Life in Fort Worth

An interactive fountain at the Fort Worth water gardens with patrons enjoying the art. Photo by Lucy Puente

Top places to eat around Fort Worth

_{By Frances Wetherbee}

Fort Worth has an array of dining options. Here are some student favorites.

Students pick up food at the Brown Lupton University Union. For students who do not eat on-campus, there are many options around Fort Worth. (Photo by Heesoo Yang.)

There's no need to travel to Dallas for foodie favorites and fancy finds Fort Worth has an abundance of local classics and chains.

Fort Worth has a buzzing food scene that any Horned Frog can appreciate.

Here some places that can satisfy any craving.

New to the scene

Zaap Kitchen recently established its newest location in the WestBend retail center, near University Park. This Lao and Thai street food restaurant offers traditional Thai noodle and soup dishes.

Signature dishes on the menu include crispy garlic wings, Lao green papaya salad and Lao fried rice.

Pick up your favorite dish and a traditional Lao iced coffee for a lunch or dinner treat and sit at the WestBend public tables. Zaap Kitchen is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

If you can’t come in, try delivery through the Chow Now app or call the Fort Worth location for pick up via phone or online order.

^{Photo: ZAAP Kitchen store front Fort Worth location. (Frances Wetherbee/TCU 360)}

Lunch with a view

Press Cafe is a modern twist on coffee to cocktails, open for breakfast, weekend brunch, lunch and dinner. Go and grab an appetizer of choice after a bike ride on Trinity Trail or come with family and dog in tow for an evening meal.

The Trinity Trail location has full deck patio seating and two stories of indoor seating and bar. All outdoor seating is dog-friendly with a view of the start of the Trinity Trail.

Happy hour offers a more affordable option for drinks and appetizers Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays.

The Press Cafe menu includes a variety of American dishes including one of Texas’s top 50 burgers, according to the Texas Monthly vote in 2016.

Cafe Modern is located inside the Modern Art Museum. The cafe temporarily closed due to COVID-19 restrictions but reopened on May 18.

Cafe Modern uses local ingredients to create seasonal dishes for both museum visitors and dining guests.

During normal hours, the cafe is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., for brunch Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and for dinner on Friday nights from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Visitors can sit in the dining area or at the bar with a view of The Modern’s water and a grassy area containing the infamous metal tree sculpture in sight.

Hidden gems

Angelo’s BBQ is located at the end of White Settlement Road near the Fort Worth Stockyards. Angelo’s offers a change in scenery for a log cabin, local treat feel. For over 60 years it has been serving the people of Fort Worth and even offering to ship its famous BBQ meats.

Come in for poultry, beef, pork, flavored sausages and classic countrysides. Angelo’s offers a full bar and beer selection menu. Order a quick bite to-go or sit and stay awhile in the animal-covered dining hall.

Angelo’s is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9-10 p.m., depending on the day.

Circle Donuts is a must. With donut holes that rival Krispy Kreme and kolaches to satisfy any Texan in need of the classic Czech snack, this small pastry store has it all.

Come to Circle Donuts for a morning treat or a hot cup of coffee. This small business is open from 5 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and will send you on your way with its classic white bags labeled “Donut worry, be happy.”

Quick Frog favorites

Eatzi’s offers a variety of options including warm daily specials, fresh sushi, salads, soups and pasta. The garlic bread and cinnamon rolls are unlike any other bakery with an equal level of quality in the charcuterie options.

Eatzi’s market offers take-home items by the pound such as salmon or vegetable sides as well as daily themed specials. Pizza Fridays is a deal for $12 house-made pizzas or one pizza, one salad and one bottle of wine for $28.00 – a deal worth sharing!

Choose to sit on the covered patio and listen to the Italian opera music or take your meal home, fully equipped with all the sauces and silverware one might need.

Lunch at Angelo’s BBQ. Photo by Frances Wetherbee

Eatzi’s famous logo store front sign. Photo by Frances Wetherbee

Dutch’s is a TCU fan favorite and has been a purple staple to the university restaurant scene. Its most recent edition, the Burrito Bar, gives students and burrito lovers a local twist on Chipotle-style Mexican food.

Burrito Bar has both patio and indoor seating, as well as easy carry out options.

Come in on Taco Tuesday for unbeatable deals, or order a traditional burrito, bowl or taco salad mix. Burrito Bar also serves up Tex-Mex breakfast favorites.

Local classics

HG Sply Co. is the perfect answer to a lunch or dinner spot if a member of the dining party has an allergy or intolerance of almost any kind. All items on the menu can be prepared gluten or dairy-free.

The beloved Fort Worth location sits on the river with a large outdoor patio and bar scene with an option of beautiful indoor dining. HG is Fort Worth famous for its delicious vegan queso and kombucha mule drink.

Choose from sandwiches, appetizers, salads or build-your-own bowls. Dine with your canine outside after a long walk along the adjacent trail or come in for brunch between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

College students will take advantage of any free food they can find (TCU360/Photo)

Torchy’s specialty queso dip. Photo by TCU Student Media
Torchy’s specialty queso dip. Photo by TCU Student Media

Torchy's Tacos worked with Frogstock 2016 to provide free tacos for attendees. Photo by TCU Student Media
Torchy's Tacos worked with Frogstock 2016 to provide free tacos for attendees. Photo by TCU Student Media

Texas tacos

Torchy’s Tacos features crafty names and a lively scene.

With names such as the Republican, the Democrat and the Trailer Park, Torchy’s offers tacos made from scratch and keeps the menu updated with monthly specials featuring a few vegetarian and a wide variety of meat options.

While Torchy’s is not local to Texas exclusively, it is beloved by the DFW locals, visitors and TCU Horned Frogs with two locations in Fort Worth. Their specialty margaritas and queso put them on the map for a must-visit.

Fine dining

Lonesome Dove is a perfect choice for a celebratory steak dinner.

Located in the heart of the Fort Worth Stockyards, the themed restaurant is easy to miss at first glance. Its small store front and boarded wooden doors make it blend in with the rest of the old west.

Its unusual appetizer options including kangaroo carpaccio nachos or rabbit-rattlesnake sausage set this steak house apart from others for its menu alone. The restaurant is closely themed after the novel, Lonesome Dove. Choose from seafood to steak cuts and add in a southern side for the ultimate wild west experience.

Where to work out in Fort Worth

_{By Frances Wetherbee}

In addition to the TCU Recreation Center, there are places around Fort Worth for students to stay active. Here's our list.

The cycling studio on the basement floor of the recreation center. Photo by Heesoo Yang

The TCU Rec center offers on campus workouts, but there are also plenty of off-campus options.

With a population of close to 874,000, Fort Worth has both chain facilities and local offerings. Most offer discounts on membership and merchandise for students and first-time members.

Franchises such as Orange Theory and ZYN 22 are based primarily on biking, rowing and treadmill machines. Other establishments are based around bodyweight, movement and temperature elements, such as CorePower’s hot yoga programs.

TCU personal trainer, Colton Purcell, monitors his trainee on an exercise at the recreation center on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. Photo by Carolina Olivares

The new multi-gym unit can be found in the weight room. Photo by TCU Student Media
The new multi-gym unit can be found in the weight room. Photo by TCU Student Media

Orange Theory

Orange Theory is a heart rate-based HIIT class with the integration of cardio, strength training, and rowing elements. The program is based on a five-heart rate zone guide: resting (gray), easy (blue), challenging (green), uncomfortable (orange) and All Out (red).

Classes are an hour long and vary in structure each day. The coaches use a headset system to communicate to all groups on their respective activity of the class, while the coaches’ playlist of choice plays overhead.

Fort Worth is home to three Orange Theory facilities: Montgomery Plaza on West 7th Street, Camp Bowie on Sunset Drive and SW Fort Worth on Bryant Irvin Road. All the locations offer first-class free to any potential members. Once a member with Orange Theory, patrons are able to practice at any Orange Theory in the country.

Orange Theory offers four packages to choose: Orange Premier (unlimited classes), Orange Elite (eight classes a month), Orange basic (four classes a month), or purchase by class.

Due to COVID-19, members must sign up ahead of time to save a spot. Temperatures are checked at the door, which opens five minutes before the session. During the workout, athletes wipe down their equipment and wear masks to transition from each station.

“Our coaches are more than just coaches… As you take in the energy of our group workout, you’ll also get the attention and inspiration that comes from our experienced personal training coaches,” according to the Orange Theory website.

The coaches ask members extensive questions in order for the coaches to help their athletes reach their goals to the best of their abilities.

Personal trainer, Colton Purcell, talks through the motions of the exercise with his trainee at the TCU Recreation Center. Photo by Carolina Olivares
Personal trainer, Colton Purcell, talks through the motions of the exercise with his trainee at the TCU Recreation Center. Photo by Carolina Olivares

CorePower Yoga

CorePower Yoga offers its members a unique experience of intense levels of yoga in heated studios. The program offers CorePower Yoga 1, Yoga 2, Yoga Sculpt, Hot Power Fusion and special classes. All programs have a heat guideline posted on their website for participants to decide on their level of intensity in both temperature and exercise movement.

Due to COVID-19, CorePower now also offers a live, at-home package via Zoom for members who choose to participate virtually. The "Safe Studio Standards" have been updated for members to feel safe and stay healthy during their time in the studio. Class sizes have been limited for social distance and require sign-ups online ahead of time, members are also asked to bring their own mats and practice proper sanitization of their area and hands.

There is a monthly fee or a class-by-class charge package. Per month, there is a $159 fee at the West Bend location, Fort Worth’s only CorePower studio. Student discounts vary depending on each location.

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Gym area in the TCU Hyatt Hotel. Photo by Heesoo Yang
Gym area in the TCU Hyatt Hotel. Photo by Heesoo Yang

EnduraLAB

EnduraLAB is a gym with strength and endurance training programs for both group classes and personal goal programs, such as running. The coaches program the utilization of barbells, dumbbells, and cardio machines into their classes to help their members lose weight, build lean muscle, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

College students receive a 15% discount off of the $189 per month membership. This membership includes unlimited group classes, online workouts as well as run and ruck (weighted walking) programming. For new members looking to try out a class, the EnduraLAB coaches offer free consultation and a $25 fee for the first class. If the member decides to join, that $25 fee will be included in the first-month membership charge.

COVID-19 precautions are still in place at EnduraLAB. Temperatures are taken at the door and masks are required when entering and exiting the gym, but not at the member’s workout station. Every member has their own assigned equipment during their session and classes have been limited to 15 people.

“We aren’t into the quick fix trends. We work to create healthy habits and strong people that can live their lives better for longer,” said Whitney Kelly, TCU graduate and EnduraLAB marketing coordinator.

Fort Worth Zoo details unprecedented year, future plans

_{By Frances Wetherbee}

The zoo is a main attraction in Fort Worth, and it's getting an upgrade. Here's what we know.

The Fort Worth Zoo's entrance sign on University. Photo courtesy of the Fort Worth Zoo website.

The Fort Worth Zoo is beginning to return to normal operations and look towards the future after a year of challenges.

Just over a year ago, the zoo closed its doors for 11 weeks as the world locked down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistant Director of Communications Avery Elander said it was the zoo's first extended closure in over 30 years.

A main source of their revenue is ticketing and they were hurt by the closure. Additionally, two annual fundraising events had to be cancelled.

The zoo re-opened last summer and has adopted practices such as required ticket reservations, timed entry to the park and a "clean team" for sanitation.

As more and more parts of the country begin to re-open, the zoo is still at limited capacity for now.

A Fort Worth Police Department officer put the limitations into comparison during spring break in March, one of the zoo's most popular times.

“To put it into perspective, before COVID about 25,000 people a day came to the zoo during spring break hours. Now it is about 8,700 due to the zoo’s regulations,” said Officer Mike Richey, who helps direct traffic at the zoo.

Even as they have adapted to new changes, the zoo has remained focus on one goal that emerged before the pandemic: A Wilder Vision.

A vision for a renovated zoo

A Wilder Vision is the $100 million zoo renovation project which started around 2016. This project has three phases and is projected to be finished in 2024.

“A Wilder Vision was essentially our 100 million dollar capital campaign and building project that will ultimately redesign the majority of the zoo with renovated and new habitats for the animals and it will also allow guests to be able to observe and interact with the animals in new ways" Elander said.

A Wilder Vision includes phase one, African Savanah, phase two, Elephant Springs and phase three, Hunters of Africa and Asia Predators.

The African Savanah opened in 2018. By this time, 90% of the $100 million goal had privately raised and the other $10 million was brought in by community fundraising.

A closer look at the zoo's plans for each project via map. Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Zoo.
A closer look at the zoo's plans for each project via map. Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Zoo.

The exhibit recently officially opened to the public on April 15. Visitors can now walk onto a deck into the middle of the action to see the elephants playing in their new giant pool. The exhibit was extended both for the viewers enjoyment and the elephant's quality of life within their exhibit.

The rain didn’t stop the girls from a little water play today!

Visitors can go online and adopt elephants in order to support the zoo's feeding programs. "All of our adoption packages, first of all they are symbolic you unfortunately don't get to take an elephant home, and fees associated with the contribute to the car and feeding of all the zoo's animals," said Elander. The next phase to open will be phase three, Hunters of Africa and Asia Predators.

A Wilder Vision advertisement sign within the zoo, blocking off construction. Photo by Frances Wetherbee

Elephant Springs sketched plans by the Fort Worth zoo prior to its opening. Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Zoo

Elephant Springs as it is currently open and awaiting new visitors. Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Zoo

Some of the exhibits have been closed due to COVID and their high touch involvement. Photo by Frances Wetherbee

Visitors could choose to wear a mask, but the zoo highly encourages it. Photo by Frances Wetherbee

A high touch area warning at the zoo. Photo by Frances Wetherbee

The zoo's famous lizard wearing a COVID mask this season. Photo by Frances Wetherbee

When the project started in 2016, most of the big cats were transported to different locations in order to begin construction.

Fort Worth Zoo lions and hyenas are currently residents at the Abilene Zoo, the tiger is at the Ellen Trout Zoo and the zebras are on private ranch land. They will return with the new animals to the zoo for phase three around 2023.

For their transportation the animals were trained to become acclimated to the trucks by positive reinforcement and treats. Once the animals were comfortable in the transportation vehicles, a driver and trained zoo staff took the animals to their temporary homes.

How COVID affected the zoo and its plans.

The zoo closed its doors March 14 of 2020 due to the world wide pandemic shut down. Unfortunately the zoo did loose some funds because most of the its profit comes from ticketing.

Both the anual 5k and Bistro event at the zoo were shut down due to COVID.

“That was the first time we had closed our doors for an extended period of time in about 30 years,”said Elander.

The zoo remained closed for 11 weeks.

A Wilder Vision

Lucky for the zoo, COVID did not financially affect A Wilder Vision. The $100 million had already been raised so there were no pauses in construction due to lack of money.

The construction for Elephant Springs was slightly delayed, but still opened on time as planned.

Spring Break at the zoo.

Spring break at the zoo is a chaotic time in the park. The zoo usually sees a massive increase in numbers due to the schools off for a certain time and thier extended hours.

During the week of March 13 spring break at the zoo is well underway with its extended hours. Much of the staff gets to work earlier than usual in order to prepare the animals and the park.

Fort Worth Police Department officers are stationed around the zoo entrances and highway exits to ensure a safe and efficient flow of traffic for visitors and local residents.

Members of the FWPD, Sgt. Pablo Mendoza and Officer Mike Richey, are two of many who direct traffic and have for the past few years.

“To put it into perspective, before COVID about 25,000 people a day came to the zoo during spring break hours. Now it is about 8,700 due to the zoo’s regulations,” said Officer Mike Richey.

The zoo mandated a limited number of people in the park at once by requiring guests to reserve tickets ahead of time online.

While masks are no longer required, following the mandates of local government orders, the zoo encourages visitors to wear them to keep themselves and the staff safe.

Autism Certification

In 2019 the zoo started exploring what it would take to make the park more accessible to everyone.

The Autism Center Certification for the zoo is one of the many reasons it stands out from others and holds the ranking for the number one zoo.

The certification includes training with all of the staff and making sure the park is ADA compliant across the board. They also had representatives from the credentialing board come to the park and see what a day at the zoo might be like for someone with sensory sensitivity.

Walking through certain habitats and noticing what certain smells, sights or noises that could possibly impact someone’s visit was one of the investigations conducted on site.

Together the zoo and the Autism Center created a guide and rated the attractions on a scale of one to five. This guide was published to the zoo’s website and made available for families to observe before in order to know what exhibits to avoid and where safe and quiet spaces existed around the park.

Once a year the zoo hosts a sensory day for families and visitors with sensory sensativities to come early to the park and see the exhibits worry free.