Fort Worth Cultural District

When it's 80 degrees out in the City of Cowboys and Culture, and there's a nice cool breeze floating through the air, there's no better place than a good patio. When in Fort Worth, anything better than a good patio is a great rooftop spot where you can take in the sights and sounds of our buzzing city. Whether you're looking for a beautiful bird's eye view of Sundance Square, TCU or the Stockyards, there's plenty of options!

Live Oak This Near Southside rooftop bar and patio on Magnolia Ave. has a fabulous view of the downtown Fort Worth skyline, 50 beers on tap, and an inventive menu of burgers, sandwiches and entrée salads that far exceeds the usual “bar food.” If you're looking for a change of pace, head downstairs for a sit-down dinner or casual concert hall which showcases marquee-name touring acts in a 500-seat superbly engineered auditorium. 

Dutch's Named after legendary TCU coach Leo “Dutch” Meyer, Dutch’s is a lively TCU-area hangout known for its all-natural, juicy-not-greasy burgers. Whether you're looking for a spot to pre-game or a casual weeknight dinner with family or friends, Dutch's patio is the place to be. Be sure to check out their weekly specials, (including 1/2 price Dutch Burger on Tuesdays) here.

Love Shack Iron Chef winner and owner Tim Love has created a gourmet burger joint featuring outdoor seating, live music, and a menu that will have you coming back for more! Love Shack has two locations, the Stockyards and the University area, but the Love Shack Stockyards offers an unforgettable view of the world-famous Exchange Avenue in the Stockyards National Historic District! Grab a beer, and get a spot for the twice-daily Cattle Drive (11:30a, 4p)!

Reata Restaurant is not just famous for their down-home cowboy cuisine, but their living-room type ambiance downstairs mixed with the cocktail-party atmosphere upstairs, makes this place perfect for any occasion. Overlooking Sundance Square (and the new plaza this fall), the Reata Rooftop is one of the top Fort Worth spots to take in the city sights and enjoy cocktails with friends! Be sure to share the starter sampler for a true taste of Texas! 

Capital Bar With the additions of the Backyard and the Back House, Capital Bar is one of the top music venues in DFW in addition to having an incredible rooftop bar that offers a spectacular view of the downtown skyline on one side and the park-like Fort Worth Cultural District on the other. Before you go, check out their Summer Music Series on Wednesday nights presented by 95.9 the Ranch! 

“The prairie, in all its expressions, is a massive, subtle place, with a long history of contradiction and misunderstanding.  But it is worth the effort at comprehension.  It is, after all, at the center of our national identity.” – Wayne Fields

On May 18, a variety of local organizations will descend upon the Botanical Research Institute of Texas® (BRIT) for a day of free family-friendly fun that celebrates the history and beauty of the North Texas landscape. Known as “Prairie Day”, the annual celebration focuses on BRIT’s acre-and-a-half of restored prairie habitat, which is filled with the native plant life that would have covered Fort Worth almost two hundred years ago.

Prairie Day began in 2010 when seed balls were created to help populate BRIT’s new campus meadow with a variety of native flowers and grasses. Seed balls are a Native American tradition, consisting of tiny modules that contain all the ingredients needed to give seeds a little help getting started in their new habitat – seeds, humus, dried powered red clay and sand. After being mixed with water and rolled into spherical shapes, seed balls literally become tiny gardens waiting to happen.

Local Dallas-Fort Worth organizations will also be participating in Prairie Day, including the Fort Worth Zoo, Metro Bee Keepers Club, and Blackland Prairie Raptor Center. The Log Cabin Village, a living history museum located just south of BRIT in Fort Worth’s Cultural District, will be offering a variety of activities including paper flower-making, spinning, and games. Other pioneer-themed demonstrations include making mesquite flower, acorn leeching, soap and candle making, solar oven cooking, composting, basket weaving, and gourd art.

Prairie Day visitors will have the opportunity to visit discovery booths, which will be representative of a variety of local environmental causes, including the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, the River Legacy Foundation, the Fort Worth Prairie Park, Texas Bluebird Society, and many more. Finally, performances will be staged by the Bearclaw Singers and Dancers, cowboy poet Lanny Joe Burnett, Prairie Divas & The Outlaw. Live music by 3 Fools on 3 Stools will culminate in a barbeque lunch at noon.

New to Prairie Day this year are two special guests: a pair of prairie dogs from Lubbock-based organization Citizens for Prairie Dogs. BRIT has been hosting a competition to name these special guests on their Facebook and Twitter pages, and the person who contributed the winning name submissions will receive several prizes, plus a one-on-one meeting with BRIT’s furry friends.

A Celebration of Texas History

At one time, the Texas landscape could boast about 20 million acres of tallgrass prairie. According to the Native Prairies Association of Texas, in the early 1800s the tallgrass prairie ecosystem extended across the heartland of the United States, from southern Canada through Fort Worth-Dallas before continuing south to San Antonio. (Texas’ Blackland Prairie and Grand Prairie subregions are included in this.) Before settlers arrived, the prairie was home to a variety of plant life and grazing animals, from buffalo and deer to rabbits and prairie dogs. The native grasslands protected watersheds across the Texas plains, increasing water infiltration and yield, as well as reducing erosion and reservoir sedimentation.

Today, less than 1% of that historic tallgrass prairie remains due to a combination of suburban sprawl, plowing for row-crop agriculture, and overgrazing by livestock. In fact, the tallgrass prairie is considered by the National Park Service to be one of the most endangered large ecosystems in the world.

Restoring a Prairie

The acre-and-a-half of prairie that resides next to BRIT’s sustainable, LEED-certified headquarters has proven incredibly beneficial to researchers hoping to study and preserve this disappearing ecosystem. For example, it allows BRIT researchers to learn the most safe, effective, and practical way to control the spread of invasive species such as Johnson grass (introduced from the Mediterranean region), King Ranch Bluestem (an invasive exotic grass from Asia), and Bermuda grass (a native of Asia and northeast Africa). BRIT’s prairie is also undergoing a soil remediation and regeneration project, in which different areas of the prairie are dusted with a combination of prairie soil and compost tea intended to inoculate the soil with the microbes and bacteria that are present in healthy native prairies. “The posts in the field mark the areas of different experimental treatments,” explains Dr. Will McClatchey, BRIT Vice President and Director of Research. “All of the treatments use native soil from a donor prairie site in the same watershed as BRIT. The donor soil has been processed in different ways – simply spread onto the surface of the BRIT soil, or fermented to produce a liquid that was then spread on the surface of the BRIT soil. A third choice has been to add no donor soil. Our prediction is that one of the donor soil additions will prove to be more effective at promoting prairie soil regeneration than not adding any donor soil at all.” With time and a little patience, BRIT’s prairie research will eventually prove beneficial not only for scientists, but for others who wish to manage urban grasslands.

Going Back to Basics

BRIT’s building, completed in 2011, seems brand new when compared to the legacy of the land that it stands on. And ultimately, that legacy is what the organization’s celebration of Prairie Day is all about.

“There is value in native plants, in terms of their relevancy to the history of Texas, but native plants have more value in contemporary times in terms of their effects on water, soil, and conservation in general,” says Tammie Crole, BRIT’s Head of Membership. “BRIT’s prairie demonstrates that beauty is not just defined by fancy green lawns. There is another way to save water and to maintain the integrity of the landscape, and that’s going back to the basics, filling our environment with plants that naturally grow here and belong here, as they have for hundreds of years. Prairie Day is more than a celebration of Fort Worth’s historical past. It’s a reminder that we have to be good stewards of our own lawns, our own natural resources, and our own landscapes.”

We showed you how to discover the Cultural District on a budget, and now it's time for some Sundance Square savings tips and how to visit downtown Fort Worth on a dime. When looking for free attractions in Downtown and Sundance Square, it is almost harder to find an attraction that does charge. This family-friendly Fort Worth area has plenty of hidden gems just waiting to be discovered by you and your family. Don’t forget to stop in our Downtown Visitor Center in Sundance Square for more savings: iFortWorth, located at 508 Main St.

Attractions:

• Bass Hall – Free tour on Saturdays at 10:30am
• Sid Richardson Museum – Free
• Fire Station #1 – Free
• Fort Worth Water Gardens – Free
• JFK Tribute – Free
• Heritage Trails – Free
• Sundance Square is always free to visit but check out their website and sign up for “Inside the Square” newsletter for additional discounts to be delivered straight to your email.

Most people eat something small for lunch and then consider dinner to be the larger meal of the day. Why not switch it up? Lunch menus often offer the same items but at a discounted price. Then check out a Happy Hour for dinner. Next time your in downtown Fort Worth, consider these dinner Happy Hours:

Taverna Pizzeria and Risotteria

• Monday-Friday 3:00 - 8:00 p.m., which includes Half-price Appetizers & Pizza /Well Drinks, Draught Beer, Bellini, House Red & White Wine $3.00 (Available in the bar and lounge)
• Wednesday Night-Enjoy 1/2 price bottles of wine with items off our regular menu or specials board (4:00 - 10:00)

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

• Happy Hour Sizzle, Swizzle, Swirl – The best of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse food and drinks for $7 Monday-Friday.

T and P Tavern

• Happy Hour Monday-Friday 4:00-7:00 and all day on Sunday.

Frankies Sports Bar & Grill

• Happy Hour 11:00AM-7:00PM week days
• Check out their website for daily specials!

Looking for a free way to get around? Molly the Trolley runs seven days a week from 10am-10pm. Check out Molly’s routes here! Don’t forget about Fort Worth’s brand new Bike Sharing too – there are several bike stations all over downtown for easy access! Check our out Deals & Discounts for more ways to save in Downtown!

Hometown: Vicksburg, Mississippi

Occupation: Dual Sales Manager for Residence Inn Cultural District and TownePlace Suites Downtown Fort Worth

Ideal Day in Fort Worth: Shopping in the Cultural District, lunch outside at Joe T. Garcia's, and happy hour in the Stockyards!

How would you describe Fort Worth to a visitor? A city with the perfect mixture of culture, Texas heritage, history, artistic flare, fantastic food, and of course, fun!

What do you like most about working in the tourism/hospitality industry? What I like most about working in the hospitality industry are the lasting relationships that I get the chance to build daily.

What is the biggest surprise visitors have about Fort Worth? That we're NOT Dallas! Just having a little fun, but seriously, that Fort Worth is so hospitable, welcoming, and easy to work with!

What makes Fort Worth different than any other destination? The mix of wonderful people. Where else can you see a cowboy in the Stockyards and a gentleman in a tuxedo going to a symphony at Bass Hall, at the same time!
 

In my opinion, there's no better gift than that of an sharing an amazing meal at one of Fort Worth's hottest brunch spots with someone you love. If you're looking for something a little less traditional to do with your mom in Fort Worth on her special day, we've come up with a few ideas for you. Nothing says Cowboys and Culture like a horseback ride along the Trinity Trails and afterwards, perusing any of the five world-class museums—all within walking distance—within Fort Worth's park-like setting of the Cultural District. Maybe your mom is an animal lover, and in that case, adopting an animal in her name from the Fort Worth Zoo, is sure to make a memorable gift. There are few moms who don't enjoy a good find, let alone in an incredible antique mall, so check out Montgomery Street Antique Mall and enjoy lunch in the Secret Garden Tearoom. If your mom just prefers (and deserves) to be pampered, you can't go wrong with a gift certificate to the Mokara Spa at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. 

If you're with me, and agree that brunch offers the best of both lunch and breakfast worlds, check out our top ten picks for Best Mother's Day Brunch in Fort Worth. Whether you choose brunch in Downtown, Near Southside or the Cultural District, there's plenty to see and do this Mother's Day! Call ahead for reservations. 

Downtown / Sundance Square 

Cantina Laredo - Mother's Day Brunch; 11a-3p.

Cast Iron - Mother's Day Brunch at the Omni Hotel; 10a-2:30

Grace - Mother's Day Brunch and Lunch; 11:30a–1:30p.

Reata Restaurant - Sunday Mother's Day Brunch; 11a-2:30p.

Near Southside

Brewed Fort Worth - Mother's Day Brunch with Free mimosas for mom; 9:30a-2:30p.

Cat City Grill - Mother's Day Brunch; 10:30a-12:30p

Ellerbe Fine Foods -  Mother's Day Brunch; 10:30a-2:00p. 

Cultural District 

Café Modern - Brunch at the Modern Art Museum;10a-3p.

Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana - Mother's Day Brunch; 10:30a-2p.

The Gardens Restaurant - Mother's Day Brunch at the Botanical Gardens; 10a-3p.

Hometown: Martha originally from Lubbock, TX & Richard from Lake Jackson, TX

Occupation:  Owners/Innkeepers of Azalea Plantation B&B for 20 years

Ideal Day in Fort Worth: Wake up in your lovely, quiet room at the Azalea Plantation B&B to the aroma of fresh coffee and a gourmet hot breakfast awaiting you in the dining room.  After breakfast, head over to I-30 & Montgomery to browse through artfully displayed aisles of treasures from the past at Montgomery Street Antique Mall. Only a few minutes from there is Kool Nails (corner of W. Seventh & University) where you can treat yourself to an amazing mani and pedi at a reasonable price and by professional and friendly staff.  For a yummy lunch, go across West 7th Street on Foch to La Familia for lunch with the locals. Guaranteed: you won’t be disappointed as they have quite a following! Spend the afternoon checking out Fort Worth’s state of the art museums or the Botanic Gardens. Return to the B&B for a little rest and relaxation, and perhaps a glass of wine.  Later, enjoy dinner at Lonesome Dove in the Historic Stockyards District, an incredibly unique culinary experience. The Stockyards District has plenty of live music and boot scootin’, so don’t turn in too early...go have some fun before heading back to the B&B for a perfect night of sweet dreams! (You’ll be dreaming about Cowboys & Culture!)

How would you describe Fort Worth to a visitor? Fort Worth is a friendly BIG hometown with ties to the past and eyes on the future!

What do you like most about working in the tourism/hospitality industry? I love the opportunity to show people a great time. It’s truly a blessing to have a job that you love doing! True hospitality gives me the opportunity to go that extra mile and create an experience that our guests will cherish and remember for a long time.

What is the biggest surprise visitors have about Fort Worth? We are constantly surprised by the number of international visitors to our city and how much they know about Fort Worth and the area. They absolutely love it here!

What makes Fort Worth different than any other destination? Fort Worth has that air of “having it all together” but without the attitude.  Everyone is welcome and accepted, and leaves feeling that they are better for having visited our “hometown”.

Learn more about Azalea Plantation Bed and Breakfast, located at 1400 Robinwood Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76111.

If you are looking for a fun-and free-way to spend your weekend, bring your family out to Stockyard Exchange for the annual Frontier Forts Days, May 10-11, 2013. During the two-day event, the Stockyard National Historic District will take you back in time to the wild and wooly days of the Texas frontier. During the festival, cowboys, Native Americans, and military personnel come together to reenact a time when these vastly different cultures mingled and clashed, as they forged the future for the city of Fort Worth. 

Exchange Avenue will be transformed to the 19^th century and lined with encampments from the Texas Forts Trail. Wander through the camps to learn about the tools and daily life of the soldiers, as well as get a unique glimpse of the relationship between Texas and US Military. Parades, demonstrations, and other cultural encounters are ongoing throughout the day to give you a glimpse of the journeys and people who shaped the land.

With so many action-packed activities on the agenda, the kids will be so entertained that they won’t even realize they are learning about an important period in Texas history.

You won’t want to miss:

• Artillery demonstrations
• Infantry and Cavalry demonstrations
• Native American performances
• Live music
• 10 Fort encampments
• Military parades and presentations

Frontier Forts Days will begin on Friday, May 10 at 10:00 am and run through Saturday May 11 at 5:00 pm. 

Photo: Brian Hutson

Fort Worth native, Jamey Ice, guitarist for Green River Ordinance, is proud to say he grew up in the City of Cowboys and Culture. For the last seven years, he has traveled the country with GRO—playing every major city in America, but any time he’s asked what his favorite city is, he is quick to respond, “Fort Worth...it's my favorite city in the country”. Jamey recently opened up BREWED, a restaurant/ pub / coffeehouse on Magnolia Ave., the main street on one of Fort Worth’s emerging districts, the Near Southside. The vision behind BREWED was to create a “local living room” – a place where people can come to feel at home, be inspired and enjoy great hand-crafted food and drinks. Jamey said, “It was fun because I got to bring a lot of ideas that I have seen in other parts of the country back here to Fort Worth.”

Hometown: The greatest city in America…Fort Worth, Texas!

Occupation: Guitar player in Green River Ordinance & owner of BREWED. 

Favorite Fort Worth District: The Near Southside. It's a ton of fun. I love it because it is a community that supports and embraces local things. There are so many local artists and artisans here, dreamers and thinkers, awesome one-of-a-kind local businesses, and incredible local eateries. It's also a very community-driven area, with vibrant people who are passionate and active about supporting local goods. People are always outside: riding their bikes, working in the community gardens, or walking their dogs. My wife and I live in Fairmount and we are crazy about our neighborhood and the big front porches are a true reflection of  that everyone is always outside hanging out. I literally see my neighbors every day. I cant think of another neighborhood in town that has the community and camaraderie among the neighbors as Fairmount. 

Favorite Fort Worth Restaurant: BREWED?!? Fort Worth has so many killer places to eat, it is so hard to pick. But if I had to pick the one restaurant that I frequent most and has a special place in my heart, it would have to be Benito’s on Magnolia. It is the real deal authentic Mexican food, not the tex-mex stuff (not that there is anything wrong with good tex mex!). They have great authentic menudo, ceviche, chile rellenos, mole, and my favorite dish, queso flameado (a flaming cheese queso)! It's my dad’s favorite restaurant, so we grew up going there every Sunday and has become a weekly staple ever since. 

Describe your ideal day in Fort Worth. I am obsessed with my city, so it's hard for me to pick just a one-day itinerary. I love Fort Worth in the summertime when the weather is warm. My ideal day would have to include walking around Magnolia, some Fairmount front porch hanging out with my neighbors, sipping margaritas at Joe T's, exploring the Modern, riding my bike around the Trinity River, and maybe catching some awesome music and fireworks during the summer concert series at the Botanic Gardens.

Where are your favorite places to listen to live music in Fort Worth? Green River Ordinance literally got our start at The Aardvark on Berry Street. We started playing there in high school and continued through our TCU days, and I still love catching bands there. The new Live Oak Music Lounge is also a great new spot that is bringing in some awesome music. Of course, it doesn’t get much better than seeing someone play at Bass Performance Hall; that place is unreal. It doesn’t matter who is playing because any show at Bass Hall is sure to be amazing!

If you had to describe Fort Worth in a song title/create a song title for Fort Worth, what would it be? Oh man that’s a hard one. There are some good songs about Fort Worth. Steve Earl has the famous “Fort Worth Blues” song. For some reason Pat Greens music always reminds me of home. With GRO, we have spent so much time writing and recording our music here in town that it's hard not to associate Fort Worth with our songs. “West Wind” and “Dancing Shoes” both loosely about our City. 

If you could play a live show anywhere in Fort Worth, somewhere out of the norm, where would that be? We are playing at the Concerts in the Garden this summer. That is literally one of my favorite things to go to every year, so I am pretty pumped for that. Definitely a “Bucket List” show. But something out of the norm....hmmm. It would be fun to do a show on the roof of the 7^th street parking garage. It has a killer view of all of downtown, so that would be pretty fun! 

Your favorite place to get inspired in Fort Worth: The Kimbell Art Museum lawn (before they started construction on the Renzo Piano expansion). I can’t tell you how many Green River Ordinance songs were written right in front of the Kimbell or by the giant vortex statue at the Modern. Whenever we would get writer’s block, we would always grab our guitars and go down to Fort Worth Cultural District. 

Looking for affordable lunch and dinner options in the Fort Worth Cultural District? Try one of the two fantastic food truck parks in the area – Clearfork Park Food Park and Fort Worth Food Park. Both parks offer a casual atmosphere with affordable food options for even the pickiest eaters. Looking for more? Check out these Nightlife & Happy Hour Specials:

Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge

• Sunday is “Service Industry Night” – Complimentary bowling and shoe rental with a valid service industry pay stub from 9pm-Midnight.
• Tuesday is “Bottomless Bowling” – $9.99 All-You-Can-Bowl from 10pm-Midnight.
• Wednesday “Margarita Night” - $1.50 Margaritas and complimentary chips and salsa from 9pm-Midnight.
• Thursday “College night” – Complimentary bowling and shoes with valid college ID from 9pm-Midnight.
• Happy Hour is Monday-Friday 4-7pm.

Bar Louie

• Happy Hour – Monday-Friday from 4pm-7pm, this also features some Half Price appetizers.

Tillman’s Roadhouse

• Happy Hour – Monday-Friday from 4pm-5:30pm.

Fred’s Texas Café

• Happy Hour - Monday-Friday from 3pm-6pm.

Do you have a favorite Happy Hour in the Cultural Distict? Let us know about a great deal you found by commenting below!

We all know that travelling can get expensive sometime. That is why doing your homework and finding the best deal is so important. Well we have done the homework for you. Take a look at these great deals in the Cultural District, West 7^th Street District and University Area.

Museums & Attractions:

-Amon Carter Museum is always FREE to visit.

-Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth - FREE to visit the first Sunday of every month.

-Kimbell Art Museum’s permanent collection is always FREE to see. Kimbell offers Half Price admission to their traveling exhibitions Tuesday from 10am-5pm and Friday from 5pm-8pm.

-You can received Half Price admission to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with paid admission to the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame (visits must be on the same day).

-The Fort Worth Botanic Garden is FREE to visit.

-The BRIT (Botanic Research Institute of Texas) offers FREE Self-guided tours during regular working hours, Mondays-Fridays, 10am- 5pm and Saturdays, 10am-2pm and FREE Guided Tours Thursday at 1:30pm and Saturday at 10:30am).

-Both Log Cabin Village and the Japanese Gardens are only $5 for adults to visit.

-Monnig Meteorite Gallery - located on the Texas Christian University campus is FREE to visit. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 1pm-4pm and Saturday 9am-4pm.

-Discount Tickets for the Fort Worth Zoo are available at iFortWorth and Wednesdays are Half Priced ticket days.

Don't forget to check out Fort Worth's new Bike Share program for a easy and affordable way to get around town.This is only the beginning on great deals to be found in Fort Worth. Feel free to let us know about other deals you've found by commenting below!

“It almost feels like we’re in Austin.”

That was an observation made by my partner a couple of Friday evenings ago, as we stepped onto the outdoor patio of Rodeo Goat Icehouse, a gourmet burger-and-beer joint located near the Fort Worth Cultural District. On this warm evening, the wooden picnic tables were virtually all filled with a mix of college kids, young professionals winding down from the work week, and older grownups out for a date night. (Right now, there are chimeneas and a wood-burning stove on the patio for colder nights; and presumably come summer, the misters will be going full blast.)

Inside – which is divided between a bar at the front; casual, first-come-first-served seating with long, cocktail-height tables; and a more traditional dining area that’s open for private parties or when the place gets busy – things were just as hectic.

I could see my partner’s point: Austin has long been known for its funky, unpretentious establishments that seem to attract all stripes. Rodeo Goat, which opened last December, is one of a handful of places new to the Fort Worth dining scene that strive to capture a similar spirit.

We were big fans of the “Nanny Goat” burger, perfectly cooked to a juicy medium, and topped with herb goat cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and garlic mayo. And though it seems almost criminal to do such a thing in Cowtown, we also tried the “Neil Young” – a veggie burger with creamy avocado and a pleasantly spicy sauce. Wash it all down with a brew from one of Rodeo Goat’s expansive beer menu – it includes more than 100 options – and you have yourself a low-key, affordable night out.

And if you’re looking to sustain the hipster vibe, you can head a few miles southeast to Magnolia Avenue: Avoca Coffee, which opened in 2011, offers a sprawl of comfortable couches and leather chairs; locally roasted coffee; and handmade treats from Dude, Sweet Chocolate. Further down Magnolia is Brewed, a coffehouse / bar / restaurant  that also where at one table you'll see a group of friends knocking back beers, and at another a tortured writer quietly tapping away on his novel. 

Pehaps the best news of all: Unlike our compatriots in Austin, here in Fort Worth we don’t have to deal with chock-a-block traffic, and all those annoying people trying way too hard to be weird.

Rodeo Goat: 11 a.m. to midnight, Sunday to Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Thursday to Saturday

Avoca: 7 a.m. - 10 p.m., Monday to Saturday; 7 am to 5 p.m., Sunday

Brewed: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday to Wednesday; 8 a.m. to midnight, Thursday to Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday; closed Mondays

Try the spicy Caca Oaxaca Burger.

In the constellation of Fort Worth's celebrity chefs, Jon Bonnell doesn't have the boisterous, megawatt personality of someone like Grady Spears -- the cowboy cuisine pioneer who seems like he was born to be a guest on Good Morning America. Nor is Bonnell's empire as expansive as, say, that of Tim Love, the chef-owner of The Woodshed Smokehouse and Lonesome Dove, who seems to open a new venture every third week.

Instead, Bonnell -- the owner of Bonnell's Fine Texas Cuisine, which opened in 2001 -- is more of the journeyman star of the Fort Worth dining scene: The chef who got famous by virtue of being terrific, year in, year out.

Now Bonnell's star is about to shine even brighter. Last Saturday, the chef opened, Waters, the newest eatery in the ever-expanding West 7th development in the  Fort Worth Cultural District. At the opening night party, Bonnell showed off the new digs to a few hundred friends, foodies and media folks.

Bonnell is best known for game and heartier fare: If you haven't tried his Pepper-Crusted Buffalo Tenderloin, you're culinary life experience is not complete. With Waters, though, he turns his attention to seafood, albeit with a quintessential Texas twist: Among the menu items we sampled on Saturday night were fried and BBQ oysters; an impossibly buttery and tender red snapper; and (my personal favorite) yellowfin tacos (Bonnell pairs the tuna with a spicy wasabi-lime creme fraiche and a wonderfully crunchy tortilla).

Seafood-phobes need not despair: There are also more traditional Bonnell creations, like the bone-in ribeye and chicken fried rabbit loin, on offer.

Located in the space previously occupied by Bailey’s Prime Plus, Waters carries the seafood theme into the interior design: In the front lounge area, there’s an eye-popping, bar-length chandelier constructed from oyster shells. The main dining room also features a raw bar -- a nice alternative for those looking for a more casual eating experience.

This Earth Day, (April 22, 2013) Fort Worth will be celebrating in style as the city launches the Fort Worth B-Cycle, the first-ever bike sharing system in North Texas. Texas is making environmental strides as the only state with three cities to have a bike-sharing program: San Antonio, Houston and now, the City of Cowboys and Culture. If you're not familiar, bike sharing is an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation based on the shared use of public bicycles. Run by the nonprofit organization, Fort Worth Bike Sharing, the system will feature 300 specially designed Trek bicycles available for checkout from 30 docking stations located throughout the city: from Downtown Sundance Square to the Cultural District and the Near Southside.

Memberships for the new bike share program are for sale and if you sign up before the Earth Day launch on April 22, you receive a $10 discount on an annual membership by using promo code, "earlybird." An annual membership costs $80; students, seniors and military can purchase for $65. Annual members will receive "B-cards," which enable them to more quickly checkout bikes from the bike share station. Another perk for these annual members is that they can use their B-cycle memberships in other B-cycle cities, including San Antonio, Houston, Denver and Nashville. The Earth Day event launch will include a featured send-off of approximately 300 volunteers riding the bicycles from Burnett Park to each docking station. Avid cyclist, Mayor Betsy Price and Councilman Joel Burns will be among the riders. Come on out for this special Earth Day celebration at Burnett Park on April 22-Let's Ride! 

Photo: Fort Worth Bike Sharing - Jason Lamers, Mayor Price's Chief of Staff testing out the B-Cycle

Looking for something free and inspirational to do this Spring Break in Fort Worth? Look no further than the Fort Worth Cultural District, where the Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents Big Pictures, a culmination of nearly 50 works inspired by photographers thinking "big". On view through April 21st, the exhibition explores the impact of scale and the history of how thinking large has developed over the past 100 years. Expanding the image (no matter how simple) allows us as viewers to slow down and notice the details, which is a nice life lesson in general. For example, one of the photos in the first room, Landscape by Kathy Sherman Suder (b. 1959) conveys a boxer; however, the image's scale allows us to look deeper and pay attention to the form of his muscles, the sweat, and the direction of movement rather than just the image as a whole. 

Divided into five sections, loosely chronological in order, Big Pictures conveys grandeur style in looking at how photographers use size to affect the audience in different ways, many times by breaking the boundaries and thus, prolonging the gaze. Many have believed that large photographic prints are a recent phenomenon in photography; but interestingly enough, this exhibition reveals otherwise. In fact, the drive to create ever larger images has intrigued and motivated photographers from the medium’s earliest years. Don't miss this incredible exhibition at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art!  

Hometown: Albany, New York

Occupation: Freelance writer and editor of AlbanyKid.com, a blog about enriching family travel.

Describe Fort Worth in three words: Spunky, Spirited, and Surprising.

If you want to discover America’s frontier spirit, there’s no better place to find it than in Fort Worth. The Old West comes alive every day in the Stockyards when cowhands drive a herd of Texas Longhorns through the Historic District. But on a recent visit, I discovered that there’s a lot more to this “Cowtown.”

Lush Gardens

The Texas landscape of my imagination is one of dusty trails, lone oak trees and barbwire fences. Not the verdant gardens—brightened by cottage pink roses, towering azaleas, and abundantly stocked koi ponds--that graced my stroll through the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. And as if that wasn’t enough to permanently shift my mental picture, the Botanic Garden offers a number of educational exhibits, including the extremely kid-friendly Texas Native Forest Boardwalk.

Renaissance Art

I was expecting to see works by legendary Western artists such as Frederic Remington, but little did I know that Fort Worth is home to world-class art collections.  The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth houses the second largest collection of modern and contemporary American and European art in the United States. And the Kimbell Art Museum, known as “America’s best small museum,” permanently displays Michelangelo’s first painting, The Torment of Saint Anthony. Both museums are neighbors in Fort Worth’s Cultural District, where a number of outdoor sculptures prompted smiles (and even raised eyebrows.)

Loss and Remembrance

When I visited, Fort Worth had just unveiled the JFK Tribute commemorating the city’s place in history as the site of President John F. Kennedy’s final speech before his assassination. I was staying across the street at the Hilton Hotel (formerly Hotel Texas) where JFK and the first lady spent their last night together, and thus had ample opportunity to study displays celebrating JFK’s accomplishments. What struck me, though, was not the photographs and signage, but the sense of pride and gratitude in his legacy emanating from a Texan vet I met at the exhibits.

I hope you dance.

Billy Bob’s Texas, the world’s largest honky-tonk, has to be seen to be believed. We dropped in early on a weeknight, so I didn’t experience the energy of a 100,000 square foot establishment capable of holding 6,000 people. Instead, I was able to get a good gander at the decorative displays: the world’s largest belt buckle; walls covered in hand prints from the likes of Ringo, Richard Petty, and Huey Lewis; and a homage to the Live at Billy Bob’s Texas” label listing county music legends from Merle Haggard to Billy Joe Shaver who have recorded onsite. The image that will stay with me, however, is that of a middle-aged couple dancing on the wooden floor, under neon lights and a rhinestone studded saddle.

Seems to me that Fort Worth is full of fun and educational things to do with kids, but it’s also the kind of place that makes you want to dance.

Hometown: A born and raised desert dwelling Phoenix girl transplanted to the snowy plains outside Denver, CO

Occupation: Director of Social Influence for Traveling Mom, Travel Blogger at Mom Off Track

Describe Fort Worth in three words: charming, welcoming and full of character!

What is the number one thing you need to know when traveling with a teenage boy? Where to eat, of course. Fort Worth certainly has no shortage of answers to that question. Breakfast at Paris Coffee Shop is the way to start off the day with groggy, hungry teenagers.  Nothing gets their day started off right more than a little pie after a hearty breakfast of eggs and bacon. It’s OK. You are on vacation. No one will judge your parenting skills although I may have to judge you if you leave there without at least a little piece of owner Mike’s coconut pie which is made fresh daily by 11 am.  

I travel frequently and I love nothing more than to sneak one of my teenage sons into my suitcase whenever I can. We were excited about seeing the cowboy culture in Ft. Worth, but didn’t realize until we got there for the Family Travel Conference that we would be eating like cowboys—just the way teenage boys like.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s where we had probably the best chicken tortilla soup we have ever had. It reminded me of the authentic Mexican food I grew up eating in Arizona. The patio was gorgeous and the margaritas were the perfect way to top it off for mom. I would have loved more time to just sit there and enjoy a second margarita. But, alas, teenagers are always on the go!

For dinner we headed over to the Stockyards area for some BBQ Texas style, (dry rubbed, not wet) at Riscky’s. There are lots of things on the menu but my teen went right for the All You Can Eat Beef Ribs. For $9.95 you can actually afford to feed a teenager here! After a few plates he slowed down and we decided to walk it off strolling through the Stockyards. He had a blast riding a mechanical bull and having his picture taken on a real one. We took a walk over to Billy Bob’s, billed as the world’s largest honkey tonk, where we took some great photos and bought some fun, logo t-shirts as souvenir’s.

Besides the constant worry of where your teenager will graze, what is the second most important thing you need to know about Fort Worth? There is plenty to do here! We enjoyed several of the museums in the Cultural District. The small cultural district is home to six world class museums. What I loved is that they are so close together that you can just walk from one to the other. So convenient and easy. One of our favorite Cultural Districts museums was the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History where we were able to see the amazingly powerful Titanic Exhibit which closes March 24, 2013 so if you have an early Spring Break, make this a must see on your itinerary.  I wasn’t sure how much my 16-year-old boy would enjoy the National Cowgirl Museum Hall of Fame would be for a 16 year old boy buy we went anyway because we had some time to kill. Turns out he enjoyed it because of the several interactive audio-visual exhibits. He really had fun making a video of himself riding a mechanical horse that he could share with his friends.

During our trip here we also enjoyed visiting JFK Tribute located at the southeast corner of Main and 8th Streets, in downtown’s General Worth Square. This is the last place the nation heard the 35^th President speak and the life-sized bronze sculpture commemorating that moment is stunning.

And, because he’s 16, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a college tour. We chose Texas Christian University because of its small size and community feeling.  TCU students showed the warm and welcoming feeling we felt throughout all of Fort Worth. The campus was beautiful and we enjoyed learning about the history and tradition of the school. We were even able to rub the TCU mascot, The Horned Toad’s, nose for good luck.

The only unfortunate part of our trip was that we were only here for a day and a half. Those of you planning your Spring Break trips have the lucky ability to plan a much longer, relaxed trip. The Fort Worth Zoo was ranked one of the top 5 zoos in the nation by USA Travel Guide and is top of my list for when I have the chance to return. No matter how many days you have the good fortune to stay, I am certain you and the teens will have plenty of fond memories of Fort Worth just like Connor and I have.

Hometown: Westport, ct 

Need your belly washed? 

 

In cowboy parlance, belly wash is coffee, a saddle blanket is a pancake and Pecos strawberries are beans.

 

Welcome to Fort Worth, Texas, which prides itself on being known as the City of Cowboys. (You can see cowboys herding longhorn cattle on the streets twice each day in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, though today it’s strictly for the tourists.)

 

But Fort Worth also prides itself on being a city of culture. After all, there are five world-class museums here, from the Modern Art Museum, the second-largest museum gallery space for modern art in the country after MoMA New York to the Kimbell Art Museum, which has in its collection Michelangelo’s first painting and is undergoing a $125 million expansion to the Cattle Raisers Museum, that is literally a museum within a museum at the fantastic Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, which also includes the Fort Worth Children’s Museum.

 

It was at the Cattle Raisers Museum that I learned the lingo for chuck wagon eats. By the end of the Civil War, I also learned, millions of heads of cattle were in Texas and the teams that herded them North along the Chisholm Trail stopped here for supplies at what originally was settled as an army fort to protect settlers from Indian attacks on the frontier. The kids will love the interactive computer games that challenge them to drive the cattle to the ranch. Did you know that some ranchers use helicopters today to keep track of their herds?

 

Fort Worth certainly would be a good option for a Family Spring Break

 

Got a little cowgirl in the bunch? A few steps from the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame that celebrates the resilience and athleticism of the women who helped settle the frontier and entertained at rodeos and Wild West shows. 

 

I love that Fort Worth offers the opportunity to juxtapose Western history in museums and outside on the streets. Did I mention the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Sid Richardson Museum, both feature works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, two of the country’s greatest Western artists.

 

Eat some Texas barbecue  or Tex-Mex(we went to Riscky’s) for traditional Mexican fare at the sprawling Joe T. Garcia’s in a Mexican-style hacienda that has been a fixture here since 1935. (Enchiladas or fajitas?) Stop for breakfast (biscuits and gravy or cheese grits maybe?) or a piece of freshly-made pie (coconut or chocolate) at the Paris Coffee Shop that has been in the same family for more than 70 years. In case you are wondering, owner Mike Smith, who makes the pies, says coconut and chocolate cream are the most popular.

 

By now you’ve got to work off all the good eats, so grab your cowboy hat and go horseback riding along the Trinity River trails or take a hike at the huge (3,600-acre Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, where there’s also the chance to see a variety of animals native to this area — cottontail rabbits, prairie dogs, beavers and bison among them.

 

I’m busy breaking in my new Fort Worth cowboy boots.

 

© 2012 EILEEN OGINTZ

 

For more Fort Worth information and things to do this Spring Break, Click Here. 

 

Fort Worth Cattle Raiser's Museum (within the Museum of Science and History)

There are many things coming up at the Kimbell Art Museum to get excited about, most notably the opening of the Renzo Piano Pavilion in late 2013, but next month, you will have the chance to see Bernini: Sculpting in Clay starting February 3, 2013. The exhibit, featuring 49 terracotta models, most of which done by Bernini, explores a deeper understanding of the sculptor and his incredible talents. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who lived between 1598 and 1680, was the greatest sculptor of the 17th century—the Michelangelo of his age. He did for sculpture what Caravaggio did for painting, invigorating it with an unprecedented sense of drama and naturalism that launched the artistic age known as the Baroque. Over a career that spanned nearly 70 years, he reshaped the face of Rome with his spirited works—from marble statues of saints in chapels to dramatic fountains in civic spaces. Mark your calendar to set a date to visit the exhibit, Bernini: Sculpting in Clay from February 3-April 13, 2013! Caption: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Model for the Lion on the Four Rivers Fountain (detail), c. 1649–50, terracotta. Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome. Photo by Zeno Colantoni.

Taking a look at fall 2013, the Kimbell Art Museum will host some of the most celebrated works of modern art during The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Masters from The Art Institute of Chicago (October 6, 2013-February 16, 2014). The exhibition will feature nearly 100 works from The Art Institute of Chicago which holds one of the greatest collections of modern European art in the world. In the largest loan of its kind from the Art Institute, the Kimbell will host The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Masters from The Art Institute of Chicago as the only venue.The works span the first five decades of the 20th century and include 10 pieces by Picasso and 10 by Matisse. This exhibition has been booked to coincide when the new Renzo Piano-designed building is scheduled to open.

For more information on things to do in the Fort Worth Cultural District visit us online. 

The Forest Park Miniature Railroad is one of Fort Worth's many kid-friendly gems. Located next to the Fort Worth Zoo off Colonial Parkway in Forest Park, the main train depot (there are two) provides a great attraction for kids and always a great add-on activity from a day at Trinity Park, Fort Worth Zoo, Log Cabin Village or the Cultural District Museums. 

The five-mile route (35-45 minutes round trip) takes you from Forest Park to the Duck Pond in Trinity Park and back with one stop at the Trinity Park Depot where passengers may board the train if seats are available. Whether your child expresses interest in trains or not, this is a wonderful way to see Fort Worth as the train crosses six bridges over the Trinity River.

This winter, the train runs Saturdays, Sundays and select holidays: 11am - 4:30pm; weather permitting. Plan ahead by calling before your visit to ensure they are open: 817-336-3328. The Miniature Railroad accepts cash only, but is an inexpensive attraction that offers a whole lot of fun! For adults (13+), tickets are $4.00. Tickets for children (1-12; any child under one can ride on their parents ticket) and Seniors (65+) are $3.50. For more family fun attractions and things to do in Fort Worth, click here.