By
TERESA GUBBINS / The Dallas Morning News
The
Fort Worth Rail Market will thrill
those who value the small, the quirky,
the independent.
Located in the Santa Fe building on the southeastern edge of downtown Fort Worth, this public market eschews the anonymous polish of chain restaurants in favor of mom-and-pop vendors who offer the personal touch.
 |
| Fort Worth Rail Market is located
in the Santa Fe building. |
The benefit: You get to know the owners. You can see them making your food. The trade-off is that small, independently run places aren't always consistent or predictable. You'll probably wait a spell for your order to be filled. There's a chance you might not get exactly what you ordered. And it may not be much more complicated than what you'd fix at home.
The rail market is part of Fort Worth's efforts to spiff up downtown. It's a block (a long block) from the Intermodal Transportation Center, where the Trinity Railway Express stops. You can take the train in from Union Station in Dallas (or from stops along the way) and get there in an hour.
Imagine an afternoon excursion. At the market, you could browse for flowers at Plant Source and select all-natural meats at Dominion Farms, fresh fruits and vegetables at Santa Fe Produce, wine at Lone Star Wines and Texas-themed trinkets at Go Texas.
And you could dine at one or more of the food spots listed below. Seating is shared, similar to a food court at a mall.
The market is at 1401 Jones St., two blocks east of the Fort Worth Convention Center. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (restaurants are open those hours unless noted below). Call 817-335-6758 or visit www.fortworthrailmarket.com.
Spiral Diner
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| Spiral
Diner offers guests a variety
of vegan fare. |
The splashiest spot at the market is Spiral Diner. I mean, golly gee, who'da
thought of a vegan restaurant in the middle of Cowtown? And the answer is owner
Amy McNutt, who began to take cooking seriously when she became vegan nearly
five years ago.
She's created a menu with some familiar-sounding
dishes such as burgers and hot dogs – vegetarian, of course – as
well as ethnic items such as the Jamaican Jerk BBQ sandwich (made with tempeh),
and a Mediterranean wrap sandwich with hummus and vegetables. She uses no meat
or cheese, and the ingredients are almost entirely organic.
The nut burger ($5.50) was a pretty decent burger substitute and a good alternative to the typical veggie burger. Her nut patties come from a company in California and are made of sunflower seeds, carrot and brown rice. The burger came on a whole-wheat bun with green-leaf lettuce, a slice of tomato, red onion, ketchup and mustard. With all sandwiches, you get a choice of dill-laced potato salad or yummy crisp sweet-potato chips.
A wrap ($6) was
rich and filling, thanks to its two purées: luscious
cooked sweet potato vs. a savory hummus combining flavors both nutty and citrus.
It also contained avocado, sliced cucumber and chopped spicy walnuts. All components
seemed fresh except for the cucumber, which was soft at the center; this is
an item that should be sliced to order.
Desserts are homey and wholesome, and vary from week to week; it might be a nubby-looking carrot cake or a spicy apple pie. There is Blue Sky soda on tap, an unusual offering, as well as wheatgrass juice and sparkling apple cider. Spiral Diner is the kind of place you'd expect to find in Austin; great to see it in the middle of Fort Worth.
SuppenHaus
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| Fort
Worth Rail Market favors mom-and-pop vendors. |
As you might
guess from the name, soups ($5 for 12-ounce bowl, $2.50 for 6-ounce bowl)
are the specialty here, though SuppenHaus also serves sandwiches, salads
and excellent pies.
Beef barley had
meaty bits of beef and perfectly cooked barley in a good beefy broth. Sandwiches
($4.95) come in four varieties – turkey, ham, roast beef and salami. For a great sandwich, you need really good bread – say, Empire Baking Co. – and
SuppenHaus doesn't have that yet.
Owners Michael Perlitz and Heidelinde Schusser moved here from Germany to launch what they hope will be the first lcoation in a national chain.
Pizza By Design
That's a reassuring sight in the corner of the space occupied by Pizza By Design:
a blazing circular oven where the pies are baked. Up front, a refrigerated
case holds salads, pastas and desserts.
A small vegetarian pizza, with red and green peppers, black olives, mushrooms and red onions, was a great deal at $6: big enough to feed one with a big appetite. Heavy mozzarella cheese held it all together; the tomato sauce was applied with a lighter touch. Dusted with cornmeal, the crust was nice and thin, though soft; it could have been cooked longer, but it was a pleasant little pizza, nonetheless.
Hot Damn! Tamales
The gourmet tamales made by Hot Damn! Tamales have been a hit ever since they
first became available in '99. The company shut down its other outlets in Fort
Worth to relocate to the rail market, where it serves tamales and casseroles
such as King Ranch chicken, and salads such as the superb corn and avocado
salad ($5.75), made of freshly cut corn and ragged avocado chunks.
The salad usually has a raspberry-vinegar dressing, but there is never a guarantee that Hot Damn! will have all ingredients on hand.
It would be nice
to report that the tamales are as good as ever, but, alas: A tamale plate
($5.75, with
choice of three tamales), ordered to go, had no
tamales. When the Styrofoam container was opened at home, it had just the beans
and rice – an honest mistake, but a great disappointment.
Coffee Haus
Coffee Haus
has been brewing coffee in downtown Fort Worth for a decade. In addition to
cappuccinos and lattes, this outlet also serves the Dublin, Texas, version
of Dr Pepper (made with cane sugar), as well as grilled panini sandwiches and
desserts.
Carrot cake ($3.50) had impressive layers, but the cake wasn't flavorful and its icing was dry. The fellow who made the 16-ounce cappuccino ($3) and the 12-ounce almond moo ($3.25) appeared to have limited experience. Both drinks were less than hot, and the foamed milk lacked buoyancy. With espresso-based drinks, the quality of the beverage depends upon the skill of the person making it. Coffee Haus deserves big points for opening early.
Photos
by MATT ROURKE / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Published
in The Dallas Morning News: 01.24.03
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