Fort Worth's new, 16,000-square-foot food hall will include some Dallas talent.
Beyond several Tarrant County restaurateurs involved in the food hall, more than twice as many tenants hail from Dallas and will be making their debut to an excited Fort Worth audience.
Yet another Dallas chef — this one so far unnamed — will join the food hall in six to eight weeks.
The new hall is located near the Fort Worth museum district in an area called Crockett Row. It opens Friday, Dec. 7.
A few of the tenants are veterans of Plano's Legacy Food Hall: Press Waffle Co. (serving sweet and crusty Belgian waffle creations), the Shawarma Bar (serving spit roasted chicken, lamb and beef shwarma to town) and Knife Burger (Dallas chef John Tesar's first foray into Tarrant County).
Tesar's Knife Burger in Fort Worth mirrors his stand at the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano. Both serve four burgers, including his famous Ozersky burger, plus fries and four options for milkshakes.
Tesar is also adding Knife Bar, which will be the primary purveyor of alcoholic beverages at the food hall. The massive stainless steel bar takes up the back wall of the complex. While most of the food hall stands will close around 10 p.m. at first, Knife Burger and Bar will stay open until 2 a.m. on weekends.
Dallas chef Joshua Harmon flanks the opposite end of the hall, with both a coffee bar and a deli called Butler's Cabinet. The coffee bar will be run by Conor Poull, who Harmon calls a "coffee savant." They'll be using Counter Culture Coffee, a popular North Carolina brand sold at indie shops.
A bit of a mad-scientist with a passion for fermentation, Harmon had jars of Persian cucumbers pickling in a soy and turmeric brine, and a hot sauce that he crafted from smoked lobster shells and vinegar, which have been aging for seven months. His deli will serve an eclectic collection of meats, cheeses and breads, plus sandwiches.
Chef Justin Box is launching a customizable elotes bar called EB2 at the food hall. More than corn in a cup, the roasted corn is topped with cotija cheese, garlic mayo and brown butter. He also serves fruta con chilé, which is fresh berries and other fruit topped with − believe it or not − tajin Pop Rocks and a squeeze of lime.
Aina Poke Co. by co-owner Kevin Nguyen Ho will be selling classic Hawaiian poke bowls made with vegetables and marinated sushi-grade fish like tuna and salmon.
A few tenants are graduating from food trucks, like barbecue company Not Just Q (whose owners are from both Dallas and Keller); and Brett Curtis' New England-style lobster rolls company The Dock. The lobster rolls are served icy cold on buttered and lightly grilled white bread.
Rollin' n Bowlin' is opening its second location, after owners Sophia Karbowski and Austin Patry opened their first brick and mortar location on TCU campus in August. The shop serves pitaya and acai bowls.
National dessert chain Gigi's Cupcakes makes its first move into Fort Worth with its stand selling cookies, bars and colorful cupcakes.
The final stand at the food hall at Crockett Row takes some explanation. It's called Abe Froman's of Fort Worth, named for the character in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. "Even though you never actually see him in the movie, he's got to be one of the most interesting characters — Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago," says chef Victor Villarreal. Abe Froman's will serve wood-fired pizzas topped with house-made sausage.
The food hall at Crockett Row is located at 3000 Crockett St., Fort Worth.