54 replies to this topic

[Doohickie]

My wife is funny when it comes to food. Me, I like to try new things. Her? Once she finds something she likes, she likes to stick with it. The problem is that if we find a little mom & pop place in town and then they close, she pines for the dishes she can't get anymore. The two that come to mind are recent closings:

Palermo's Lobster Ravioli
Ocean Rock's Key Lime Pie

What do you miss that you can't get anymore?

(Maybe some entreprenuer will read this thread and start a new place called The Island of Misfit Foods )

[Owen]

Crabmeat Lorenzo from the Carriage House.

[Bill Sievers]

How about the Chocolate Chess Pies from Buddies Supermarkets, circa 1970's?

[Cowtown Mike]

Fresh Hush Puppies and Key Lime Pie at Bill Martin's Seafood

[Giraffe]

Springing immediately to mind:

The Back Porch
-------------------
* French Onion soup!
* "Illegal Vanilla" ice cream


The Sizzler
----------------
* Malibu Chicken (breaded chicken patty, with ham and Swiss cheese wrapped around it, dipped in mustard sauce)


Daniel's BBQ
------------------
* Chopped BBQ sandwich


Picadilly Cafeteria
------------------------
* My father was quite fond of their vegetable soup.


Park-Aire Drive-In
--------------------------
* Dad also said the best tacos he ever ate came from their snack bar.



Excuse me while I go make a sandwich....

[John S.]

How about tasty Best Maid Pickles that used to be made in Fort Worth? My son recently pointed out to me that the iconic Fort Worth condiments are now printing on the jars that they are a product of India! Heavens... how utterly cheap must labor and raw products be in India to be able to produce Best Maid pickles there and ship them back 10,000 miles or more around the globe to Fort Worth to sell here for a profit? I've heard much about globalization and world markets in recent years but even the lowly local pickle has been outsourced!? Of course, Mrs. Baird's has been owned for a number of years by a Mexican based baked products firm. (Groupo Bimbo) Ranch Style beans belongs to the giant food conglomerate Con-Agra. Even Pace Picante, a Texas brand icon if there ever was one which used to poke a lot of fun at sauces made in New York City!!!! (Cookie, go git a rope!) is now owned by multi-national conglomerate Campbells.

I understand (but have never liked ) the outsourcing of Texas and America manufactured goods, but now even familiar local food products are "globalized". Have all the little fish in our pond been swallowed up by the multi-national whales? What strange times we live in...

[Birdland in Handley]

Wha??? Best Maid's are no longer produced at a pickle factory here? We were so pleased to be buying locally. Is Mrs's Renfro's Chow Chow still local?

[mbdalton1]

Wha??? Best Maid's are no longer produced at a pickle factory here? We were so pleased to be buying locally. Is Mrs's Renfro's Chow Chow still local?

Yes, Best Maid Products are still local, and very much so. They've been in Fort Worth since 1926. I believe, out of over 200 product items, only 2 are considered 'product of India' only because they are produced with cucumbers that are grown over there and then assembled over there, with glass jars, labels, and spices that are shipped from US.

Mary Bess

[John S.]

Wha??? Best Maid's are no longer produced at a pickle factory here? We were so pleased to be buying locally. Is Mrs's Renfro's Chow Chow still local?

Yes, Best Maid Products are still local, and very much so. They've been in Fort Worth since 1926. I believe, out of over 200 product items, only 2 are considered 'product of India' only because they are produced with cucumbers that are grown over there and then assembled over there, with glass jars, labels, and spices that are shipped from US.

Mary Bess

Mary,

I'm sorry if my statements led to any confusion. Given that my family members are dyed-in-the-wool fans of Best Maid products, we were shocked to see a "product of India" printed on one of the product labels. I will quickly add that some of the other Best Maid products we use still have the "made in Fort Worth, Texas" printed on them. Let's hope Best Maid products will always be grown, made and marketed in Fort Worth; they truly are the best made.

Side note: our family really likes pickled condiments so on a trip to California and Oregon couple of weeks ago, we made a special stop at the Olive Pit outlet in Corning, CA off Interstate 5 going north, to load up on some of their fine, locally grown and produced pickled products. I had bought from them before during the 2 years I lived in California in 2006 and 2007. Their pickled garlic, greek-style Kalamata Olives and stuffed pimento giant olives, are almost to die for. If you really like these kinds of pickled foods and are ever in that area (north of Sacramento going towards Portland, OR) it's worth the stop just off the Interstate. (see roadside billboards) I believe they also sell via the Internet but this is far off-topic, so I'll stop right here.

[Giraffe]

This is sort-of on topic...

Is my memory playing tricks on me, or does anyone else remember this:

Ranch Style Beans had a slightly different label on their cans back in the 1970s. Everything was exactly the same as it looks now, only back then the yellow splash on it said "Husband Pleasin'." Today it says "Appetite Pleasin," though it still shows the same cartoon image of a man licking his lips.

[801hme]

This is sort-of on topic...

Is my memory playing tricks on me, or does anyone else remember this:

Ranch Style Beans had a slightly different label on their cans back in the 1970s. Everything was exactly the same as it looks now, only back then the yellow splash on it said "Husband Pleasin'." Today it says "Appetite Pleasin," though it still shows the same cartoon image of a man licking his lips.

You are absolutely correct.

[Mark S]

Anyone remember the House of Mole? (later Mac's House) I'm not a salad fan, but there's was to die for!

[Giraffe]

Anyone remember the House of Mole? (later Mac's House) I'm not a salad fan, but there's was to die for!

Ate at Mac's House Restaurant once, back in the '80s, with my parents for their wedding anniversary. The staff there even surprised us with a cake and a group "Happy Anniversary" sing. It was a bit spendy, so we didn't go there but once. Can't remember anything about the food. Why did Mac's House close?

Coincidentally, a bookstore in that same shopping center is in the process of closing down and I visited it for a the first time a couple of Saturdays ago. I never knew that bookstore was there, probably because all of the businesses looked alike from the outside and I just didn't notice it before. (I found out about the bookstore closing only from an article in the newspaper.)

[Roger_H]

My wife is funny when it comes to food. Me, I like to try new things. Her? Once she finds something she likes, she likes to stick with it. The problem is that if we find a little mom & pop place in town and then they close, she pines for the dishes she can't get anymore. The two that come to mind are recent closings:

Palermo's Lobster Ravioli
Ocean Rock's Key Lime Pie

What do you miss that you can't get anymore?

(Maybe some entreprenuer will read this thread and start a new place called The Island of Misfit Foods )

That is so funny. Those were two of my wife's favorite restaurants as well. I've been telling her that being chosen one of her favorites is the kiss of death to a local eatery.

We always thought Ocean Rock had some of the best chips and salsa in town. Which is really strange for a seafood place.

Let's just pray the Cat City Grill can survive being named to my wife's favorite list.

[RD Milhollin]

Anyone remember the House of Mole? (later Mac's House) I'm not a salad fan, but there's was to die for!

Here is a related thread. I neglected to mention in that post that I worked for Mac as a busboy at Mac's House, as a waiter at Merrimac, and as assistant manager at Mac's House while in college.

[801hme]

Burgers from the Griddle System (with the secret sauce), Root Beer Float from Chelsea Street Pub, CFS (or anything, actually) from Massey's (when it was really Massey's). Anybody remember a place called Jamie's? I think they had a couple of locations. Pretty nice place if I remember correctly. They had these shoe-string cut french fries & sometimes you'd get one a foot long. Great burgers. Oh yeah, the Nacho's at Pepper's...I'm starving now...

[Phil Phillips]

Beef stew at the Richelieu Grill

[unknowntbone]

I miss the chili at the Wagon Yard on Hemphill.
I miss hamburgers from the Candlelight on Vickery near Blackmon Mooring.
I miss the chicken-fried steak at Beefeaters--where Fuzzy's is now located.

[JBB]

Fresh Hush Puppies and Key Lime Pie at Bill Martin's Seafood

The hush puppies and the live lobster tanks are about all I remember about Bill Martin's. I was quite the youngun when we still frequented that establishment. I've still found a few places around where you can get that style of hush puppie - Catfish Sam's in Arlington and Catfish and Company in Hurst.

[stgo2019]

Wha??? Best Maid's are no longer produced at a pickle factory here? We were so pleased to be buying locally. Is Mrs's Renfro's Chow Chow still local?

Yes, Best Maid Products are still local, and very much so. They've been in Fort Worth since 1926. I believe, out of over 200 product items, only 2 are considered 'product of India' only because they are produced with cucumbers that are grown over there and then assembled over there, with glass jars, labels, and spices that are shipped from US.

Mary Bess

Coming from a "Dalton" I tend to believe her

[Bradleto]

Two of mine that came to my mind quickly have already been mentioned, so I a "seconding" laments:

the house salad at House of Mole', and,

the burgers at the Candlelite on Vickery.

* An ancient Fort Worth recipe my mother still makes from a place called Ware's a million years ago (she is 81 and Ware's has been gone for many decades), she thinks was located on Riverside??? . . . was a Ware's Special, a sandwich. They were made with an egg salad with black olives, bacon and cheese on a poppy seed bun. I love my mother's version.

A few that I love so much I might have to kill myself if they ever left?

Fish sandwiches, fried okra and eggplant from Zeke's,
Sandwiches and pie from Carshon's,
Beef tacos with guacamole and cheese from the Candlelite Inn in Arlington on Division.

Some are still "extant" but not up to the original quality, at least according to my tastebuds. One example?

Spiced Apple pancakes from the 'Ol South Pancake House back at its old location.


Brad

[unknowntbone]

Oh, I forgot to mention the spaghetti at the HOP.

...and frosted root beers at Carlson's--they came to you in REAL GLASS frosted mugs.

...can't type any more...drooling...

[Sailor]

Anyone remember the House of Mole? (later Mac's House) I'm not a salad fan, but there's was to die for!

They have the same salad at Pop's Safari bar... If you can stand the smoke...

[stumpycat]

Up until about 10 years ago there was a barbeque shack in West Fort Worth at the intersection of Highway 80/Camp Bowie West and Alta Mere...now, IIRC, part of a car lot. I don't recall the name but I went there a couple of times as a kid in the early 1990's. (I'm not one for barbeque anyway, especially not now, but I thought the restaurant was rustic in the extreme and lots of Carswell/General Dynamics guys used to eat there. It had a ton of related memorabilia adorning its walls as well.) I suppose that really we have better, more consistent options now (and less crowding at any given restaurant!) but I miss the motley assortment of local-centric businesses we used to have.

[Roger_H]

Ocean Rock has reopened as Rock Bottom Bar and Grill. The menu is very similar to the old place and it does have Key Lime Pie.

[cincyvid]

Goff's Hamburgers
Spudnuts. There was one on Camp Bowie, but not sure exactly where. Spudnuts has gone out of business, but some of the franchises are now independent. There are a few around the country using the original recipe.

[Owen]

I think I remember Goff's. Didn't they have something called a Frank-n-Cheesy?

[Sailor]

Anyone remember the House of Mole? (later Mac's House) I'm not a salad fan, but there's was to die for!

They also had lemon Ice for desert....

[Doohickie]

Ocean Rock has reopened as Rock Bottom Bar and Grill. The menu is very similar to the old place and it does have Key Lime Pie.

Thanks for the heads up! We'll have to look into that.

[Doohickie]

So the wife and I had lunch at Rock Bottom today. The key lime pie is on the menu, but they were all out of it.

The lunch was good though. I had fish tacos and she had the Santa Fe Veggie wrap (less the jalapenos). We both enjoyed our food. The only complaint I had was that there was no lunch menu or lunch specials. $25 for lunch for two is a little steep. Fine for dinner, but I would have preferred a smaller, cheaper lunch offering. The decor is virtually the same as Ocean Rock, except they doused the thing in purple in a too-obvious attempt to pander to the TCU crowd.

[Cowtown Mike]

Yes there was a Goff's Hamburgers on Camp Bowie in the strip center that now house the Tom Thumb etc. It was in the store fronts closer to the street.

[Mark S]

Anyone remember Hubba Hubba's on Camp Bowie? It was one of those places with a '50s motif, and their hamburgers and chicken fried steak were both excellent. The location is now an appliance store.

[hankjr]

Grapette Soda in the little bottles that was produced at the North end of Paddock Viaduct on North Main Street. It is still available at Walmart in large bottles. Also, Chenaults chicken friend steak and burgers on Jacksboro Highway at RobertsCut Off Rd. Pig Stand on North Main St. and Bucket of Blood Cafe behind Armours near Niles City. Leonard Bros. donut making machine . Long ago gone but still favorite memories.

[Doohickie]

Anyone remember Hubba Hubba's on Camp Bowie? It was one of those places with a '50s motif, and their hamburgers and chicken fried steak were both excellent. The location is now an appliance store.

Yep. I liked that place, but it was a bit of a drive when it was there (we live down by Crowley).

[wrench]

the burgers at the Candlelite on Vickery.

I probably cooked a few of those burgers........and I also cooked the brisket using James 'special' rub.

Met my wife there as well.

Those were the days........

[Papaw]

I used to enjoy going to Lita's Hamburgers on Exchange at N. Main. You walked in got you a beer out of the bear box and when ready to order you told her how many hamburgers you wanted but they were cooked liked she wanted to cook them and you got what she wanted to put on them. There was one old light bulb on the end of a frayed electrical cord over the grill and there was about 8 pounds of raw meat in a ball next to the grill she kept ready to dip a handful out of to make the next burger. She was deadly with her fly swatter. She could pop a fly that was perched on the meat, make him fly and them swat him dead in mid air. Those were the days, city health dept. must have been paid well or well fed there. When you left she ask how many burgers and how many beers and she probably didn't loose a dime from dishonesty. I heard she closed it up and died several weeks later.
It reminded me of Henry Brooks BarBQ who never washed his hands, sold beer to anyone old enough to walk up and order and had a bad habit of scratching his ass right before he made a sandwich. But boy were they good!

[Cowtown Mike]

Henry Brooks BBQ on West Berry. I took a co worker there for lunch and Mr. Brooks had his dirty apron on and took our order. We were the only two customers in the place and he says take a number. He had labled numbers on some notebook paper and had them in a basket. We took a number and set down. Our food is ready and he is calling #3 , #3 and looking around. Again we were the only ones in there. Very funny and the place was crammed pack with all of his TCU photos.

[Papaw]

Henry was a character. One time he had a fire that burned out some of the interior and I was asking him about it several days later and he said the health dept. came in after the fire and sprayed something on all his meat and said he had to get rid of the meat. He said, "Man it took me two days getting all that crap off my meat so I could use it".

[Cowtown Mike]

Papaw, that is funny about Mr. Brooks and I can vision that.

[unknowntbone]

Growing up in Wedgwood, I remember fondly Haas Hamburgers (now Charlie's), as well as Ernie's over in the Westcliff Shopping Center.
Another burger joint--Hamburger Heaven--on McCart took quite a bit of my money as well.

[jp54]

I also worked at the Merrimac from July 1976 till July 1978.  I was a cocktail waitress while attending UTA.  One January night in 1977, it was snowing, and Julie Newmar came in in shorts. The Merrimac had a strict dress code but if you were Julie Newmar , in shorts, it did not apply.  They also had a color policy,  much like our Congress.  It was not pretty. 

[McHand]

Wha??? Best Maid's are no longer produced at a pickle factory here? We were so pleased to be buying locally. Is Mrs's Renfro's Chow Chow still local?

 

Mr. Avvy met someone (very) closely connected to Mrs. Renfros recently at his job, and we were blessed a few weeks later with four full-size jars of salsa, in the mail. Mrs. Renfro's is a Fort Worth institution!

 

 

This is sort-of on topic...

Is my memory playing tricks on me, or does anyone else remember this:

Ranch Style Beans had a slightly different label on their cans back in the 1970s. Everything was exactly the same as it looks now, only back then the yellow splash on it said "Husband Pleasin'." Today it says "Appetite Pleasin," though it still shows the same cartoon image of a man licking his lips.

I remember "husband pleasin'" too! 

[Papaw]

Texas Chile has been around for about 60 years.  They are in Ft. Worth and make the "block" chile you can buy at Walmarts etc. and is very good chile. All I add is a little cayenne pepper.     http://texaschili.com/home

[ramjet]

This may not be food history yet - is Mi Charrito's still around in Wedgewood?  If not, it was a great Mexican food memory in my quite full stock of memories of Mexican food in Fort Worth.  It's hard to convince Austinites, but there are few, if any, barbecue and Mexican food restaurants here that are even close to the incredible goodness of FW/D barbecue and Mexican food places up there.

[Papaw]

Mi Charrito's is still open - ate there last week.  Good food but margs are weak as nearly all places except Joe T's so I allways take a couple of airline bottles of tequila with a little amaretto mixed in to add to keep them topped off

[JBB]

I ate at Mi Charrito after a family reunion last summer and it was still just as good as I remembered.  We ate there at least a couple of times a month when I was growing up and that was my first time back in 10 years.  To this day, I don't think I've ever found Tex Mex in this area that stands up to Mi Charrito.  It's also a great spot for kid's and large groups.

[jp54]

I read in the old forum about Taco Bell serving beer on Camp Bowie.  I don't remember that particular restaurant but they did have a Taco place on Cooper in Arlington.  It was right next to the parking lot at UTA.  It looked like an old Taco Bell but I think it was privately owned and had another name and YES they did serve beer.  In fact it was an open draft beer with no top and you could get it at the drive thru.  We didn't have cup holders then and my car was a stick shift so it was tricky.  It's a good thing I was only driving across the street to my apt.  The drinking age was 18 and I doubt if they carded at the drive thru.  Does anyone else remember that place?

[malibu65]

Double meat cheeseburgers and onion rings from Chuckwagon

Mickey's Banana Flips from Taystee Bakery

Cheeseburgers, Onion Rings from Rick's Locker Room on Park Place

Any meal at Three Seasons Restaurant on East Lancaster

CFS at Rivera Restaurant at 35&Berry(Long Gone)

Ribs,Baked Potatoe Bar and Ice Cold Steins of Beer at Smokey's Barbecue on East Lancaster.(Reopened but not the same now)

 

[Mick]

There was a Jamie's Hamburgers up on the traffic circle in the early 70's. Kind of an odd upscale hamburger joint with table service - I ate there once and wasn't crazy about it.

 

I used to love the diced ham & cheese salad at Kip's on Camp Bowie, and the chef salad at Chelsea St. Pub at Ridgmar Mall. (I have a feeling neither one of those salads were as good as I remember. )

 

Strangely enough, the Blue Star Inn (chinese place) on Camp Bowie had one of the best chicken fried steaks in town.

 

Loved Chuckwagon hamburgers - they used the best seasoning on their burgers.

 

Angelo's was great back in the day - sadly they haven't been the same since Angelo passes away back in the late 90's.

 

Arlington Steak House used to have amazing chicken fried steak (yellow gravy) but it's not the same since they sold the place.

 

Rick's Locker Room on Park Place (old neighborhood grill now) used to have the  best burgers in Ft. Worth.