Loud music, fast cars and great food are just the starting point, writes Jennifer Bain
JENNIFER BAIN
Whiskey tour: Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. is the passion project of Leonard Firestone and Troy Robertson. The city’s first craft distillery is in a rehabbed Prohibition-era warehouse in the Near Southside area south of downtown. It offers...
JENNIFER BAIN
Walking tour: Fort Worth native Charles Norton of Authentic Fort Worth Tours took me on a private walking tour of downtown. I snapped photos of Sundance Square Plaza’s mural and huge Teflon umbrellas, marvelled at the Bass Performance Hall and saw the...
DARREN PIKE/FORT WORTH CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
Loud music: There’s music everywhere here, starting at Chief Records in the Stockyards. I caught ticketed shows at Billy Bob’s Texas and the Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge. I stumbled into free shows at restaurants — Woodshed Smokehouse and Fred’s Texas...
JENNIFER BAIN
Fast cars: It wasn’t NASCAR or IndyCar race day when I visited the mammoth Texas Motor Speedway complex. But I checked out the gift shop and took a track tour with gift shop assistant manager Jesse Richardson. Factoids: There are 72,000 parking spots...
Cowgirl moment: I like my museums small, specialized and quirky, so the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame was my favourite spot in the Cultural District. The district is small, walkable and park-like so there’s no excuse not to pop into the...
JENNIFER BAIN
Eat here, part 2: Speaking of beef, Grady Spears makes a mean, modern chicken-fried steak at Horseshoe Hill in the Stockyards, but get this as sliders and splurge on the dry-aged rib-eye that was probably the best steak I’ve eaten. The family-run Joe...
WOODSHED SMOKEHOUSE
Eat here, part 1: Texas barbecue revolves around beef, preferably brisket. You can find this and more at Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, where you point to what you want and pay by weight, and ultra old-school Angelo’s. I was wowed by chef Tim Love’s...