Cowboys & culture: A weekend in Fort Worth
Last month, I was honored to be a weekend guest of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau. I accompanied my friend Kathie (she’s a convention planner) on a scouting trip of the city.
I must admit when my family takes a weekend road trip, Dallas is usually our default destination. However, Fort Worth is impressive. It seems to offer just as much as her sister city, only with less sprawl. Here are a few of the highlights:
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
How refreshing to see a museum centered on the achievements of pioneer women! The museum doesn’t fill its 33,000 square feet, but its strengths are its Claiming the Spotlight exhibit, which focuses on cowgirls in entertainment, and its Bronc Riding exhibit, in which visitors can climb upon a stationary bull and see themselves inserted into vintage rodeo stock footage. This museum does not approach the grandeur of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, but it shows strong potential for growth.
The world’s largest honky-tonk bar will remind you you’re in Texas — if forgetting your location is even possible. Located in the stockyards district, the building is a converted barn that housed prized cattle during the Fort Worth Stock Show nearly 100 years ago. The floors are sloped, originally designed for ease of cleaning when the cows lived there. On the weekends, it is a hotbed for concerts, semi-professional bull-riding, pool, dancing and drinking. Lonestar was in concert while we were there. I would have been more impressed if they hadn’t opened the show by insulting the site of their concert the night before: Norman, Oklahoma.
This European-style opera house located in the downtown Sundance Square district is exquisite, and is sets the mood for an appreciation of the arts. We caught the first act of “Frau Margo,” an tragic opera that follows a composer’s widow in 1938 Austria. Although we could tell where the story was going, I would have enjoyed staying for the entire performance. The Bass Performance Hall also features ballet, concerts, musicals, plays and comedy shows.
Fort Worth’s downtown has been revitalized into a warm, friendly, compact area with similarities to San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. We saw Kathie’s George in “Ocean’s Thirteen” at one of the two AMC movie theaters there. Sundance’s shops are too upscale for casual shopping, and center on galleries, jewelers and western boutiques. The district boasts 26 eateries, including Cajun, barbecue, Japanese, Italian and Tex-Mex.
This Italian/Tuscan cuisine restaurant is brand new to Sundance Square and is excellent. To start, we had the calamari fritti, a lightly fried calamari with spicy pomodoro sauce and lemon aioli. It was a hearty surprise from most calamari I’ve had. For the main course, I chose the branzino, a Chilean sea bass with spring vegetable ragout and lemon herb oil. It was presented beautifully, was tender yet semi-firm, and the lemon gave it just a hint of season. Dessert was a chocolate mousse topped with brandy-soaked cherries that I was sad I could not finish.
This three-star Marriott is conveniently located in Sundance Square. Our room was spacious, and the bed was comforting after each day of sight-seeing. Long yellow roses in small vases were brought in daily. The room featured high-speed Internet, a large window overlooking downtown and an extra-large bathroom. We dined incognito at the in-house restaurant, Kalamatas, which was extremely hospitable. We ordered Mediterranean salads for lunch late in the afternoon, and the chef himself came by to chat with us.
The gardens are located across from the convention center and are very relaxing. I found them cooling, but they can become quite balmy in the summer if you are not accustomed to humidity. We were treated to breakfast near the Quiet Pool, completely surrounded by concrete waterfalls. With exception to the poor handicapped access, this would be a memorable spot for a wedding or reception.
Located near the stockyards, this beautiful Tex-Mex restaurant with a rich family history is ideal for large groups. With its expansive patios, it can seat over 1,000 patrons. Most dishes are presented family-style, and you’ll want to order margaritas by the pitcher as well.
