Looks like Fort Worthology is reporting that Palermo’s on Magnolia is closing and will be replaced by a second location of one of our favorite Fort Worth Italian eateries, Mamma Mia (which first opened northeast of downtown in the Six Points neighborhood). Guess we’ll have to update our listing. We’re sad to see Palermo’s leave, but Mamma Mia has some great veggie stuff.
La Madeleine
6140 Camp Bowie Blvd.
Sun. – Thu. 6:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Fri. – Sat. 6:30 AM – 11:00 PM
www.lamadeleine.com
There’s plenty for vegetarians to choose from at this eclectic little French-style cafe. In the way of soups, they have barley vegetable and a gloriously rich tomato basil. Vegetarian entrees include the Mediterranean flatbread, vegetarian hot sandwich, spinach pochette, Mediterranean pasta, tomato basil pasta, quiche florentine and more. For breakfast you can enjoy potato galettes, oatmeal, omelets, and French toast.
Used to have a Downtown location, but that’s now closed.
Sidewalk or patio dining: No
Pedestrian Access: Poor – Camp Bowie out past I-30 isn’t the most friendly walking neighborhood.
Bicycle Access: No bike routes or lanes or trails, no bike parking. Camp Bowie is high-traffic. Difficult all around.
Transit access: Depending on where you’re coming from, the T bus routes 2W, 27, and 32 could all take you there/nearly there.
Car access: Parking in front.
Red Cactus
3005 S. University Dr.
Mon. – Sun. – 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
http://www.redcactusrestaurant.com/
Red Cactus is a great place to get a great, big burrito stuffed with beans, rice, veggies, guacamole, and maybe even cheese and queso, if you’re into that. You can also get salads and breakfast stuff, such as Huevos a la Mexicana, Migas, and Huevos Rancheros.
Sidewalk or patio dining: Yes
Pedestrian Access: Excellent
Bicycle Access: Cantey and Benbrook are the nearest sharrow’d bike routes. The small streets around TCU are generally pretty good bike routes – just watch out for all the TCU students who like to drive too fast in their (pick one) Tahoe/Lexus SUV/BMW 3-series/jacked-up pickup while texting their (pick one) BFFs/frat brothers and cleaning their monocles and top hats. Also, University (the street itself) is not an especially bike-friendly place, so avoid that if possible and use the side streets. No bike parking adjacent, though the nearby Barnes & Noble has several racks.
Transit access: The T bus routes 7, 24, and 29.
Car access: Parking on-street and in back.
The Love Shack
817 Matisse St. (Cultural District – SoSeven Development)
110 E. Exchange (Stockyards)
www.shakeyourloveshack.com
Tim Love’s Love Shack may not scream “vegetarian destination,” but they do have a fair amount of offering for herbivores. Take, for instance, their Boom Boom Burger—a big ol’ grilled portobello on a bun with cheese and Love Sauce (or not). You can also find tasty nachos, salad, fries, parmesan chips, deviled eggs, and kick-ass onion rings. If you’re vegan, avoid the Love Sauce; it contains mayo.
Sidewalk or patio dining: Yes – Stockyards location is entirely open-air, Cultural District location is more modern and urban in design but features large shaded patio area.
Pedestrian Access: Excellent – Stockyards location has ample sidewalks (just watch out for cow patties, leather-clad bikers, and tourists), while SoSeven is a pedestrian-focused mixed-use development (just watch out if you have to cross 7th Street).
Bicycle Access: Stockyards location can be reached via the Trinity Trails and on-street paths, but the Stockyards has virtually zero bike parking. SoSeven can be reached via the Trinity Trails (the development is right across the street from Trinity Park), but there are no on-street paths (7th Street is extremely unfriendly to bike traffic) and no bike parking.
Transit access: Stockyards: Molly the Trolley runs on Saturdays (note: don’t be confused – it’s a bus with a trolley hat on it, so don’t look for an actual streetcar).
Cultural District at SoSeven: The T bus routes 2W and 10, and even perhaps the 7 if you don’t mind walking over from Lancaster.
Car access: Stockyards: Lots of parking on-street. Cultural District at SoSeven: Ample on-street parking and a small lot across the main drive of the development, plus (eventually) an underground garage.
Uno Chicago Grill
300 Houston St.
Sun – Thu: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Fri – Sat: 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM
http://www.unos.com/
UNO’s menu is ridiculously huge, and spans far further than just pizza. But if you’re craving deep-dish Chicago-style pizza, this is the place to go. They have three or four vegetarian deep dishes, as well as two vegetarian flat-bread pizza. Their non-pizza items include a roasted veggie soup, grilled vegetarian sandwich, veggie burger, and salads. UNO also has a gluten-free menu, which includes a gluten-free tomato and mozzarella flatbread pizza.
Sidewalk or patio dining: No
Pedestrian Access: Excellent
Bicycle Access: Downtown is quite bikeable, but two things to watch out for: high car traffic on weekends from suburbanites who might not know what to do about a bike on the street, and typically skimpy Fort Worth bike rack selection.
Transit access: Downtown is the convergence of all of The T’s bus routes – the system map can help in untangling them. Also, Molly the Trolley (a bus made up to look like an old trolley that runs a simple circulator route through Downtown) is extremely easy to use. Ride it and you’ll be helping get us a real streetcar.
Car access: Parking on street and nearby garages
Paco & John Mexican Diner
1116 8th Ave.
Fort Worth 76104
817-810-0032
pacoandjohn.com
Mon. – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., 5:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday Brunch 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
This gas station-turned-Mexican restaurant has a number of vegetarian-friendly options for breakfast and lunch, but dinner tends to be more of a meat fest. For breakfast, try the vegetarian breakfast taco, which comes with sweet potato, or the migas, taxi taco, or good morning torta. For lunch, they offer vegetable quesadillas, Caesar salad, some of the cheapest veggie tacos in town, and cheese enchiladas. Dinner options for vegetarians are limited.
Sidewalk or patio dining: No
Pedestrian Access: Nearby 8th Avenue is high-traffic, but there are sidewalks on both sides of 8th Ave.
Watch for traffic and careless drivers on 8th and leaving Baylor All-Saints Hospital.
Bicycle Access: Sharrowed & signed bike route nearby. Avoid 8th Avenue, use side streets. No bike racks.
Transit access: The T bus route #6
Car access: Parking in front.
King Tut
1512 W Magnolia Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76104
(817) 335-3051
Mon. – Sat. 11:00 – 2:00 p.m., 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
This long-time Magnolia institution specializes in Egyptian and Mediterranean food, ranging from hummus to falafel to schwarma. Vegetarian items such as macarona, schwarma, and veggie pizza are abundant. The hummus is killer and comes with plentiful amounts of pita bread. They also have a number of vegetarian soups and salads, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Sidewalk or patio dining: No
Pedestrian Access: Excellent – Wide sidewalks and pedestrian friendly.
Bicycle Access: On-street bike lanes on Magnolia, bike racks in front.
Transit access: The T bus route #4
Car access: Street parking in front, parking lot in back.
Benito’s
1450 W Magnolia Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76104-4231
(817) 332-8633
Mon. – Thurs. 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Sat. 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Bentio’s serves a variety of authentic Mexican dishes, including breakfast. Their vegetarian options, include Spinach Enchiladas, nachos, papas con huevos, huevos a la Mexicana, migas and quesadillas. Other dishes, such as the taco salad, can be made vegetarian upon request. Open late.
Sidewalk or patio dining: No
Pedestrian Access: Excellent – Wide sidewalks and pedestrian friendly.
Bicycle Access: Excellent – On-street bike lanes on Magnolia, though just one city bike rack.
Transit access: The T bus route #4
Car access: Parking on-street, side and in back.
Old Neighborhood Grill
1633 Park Place Ave
Near Southside
(817) 923-2282
Mon – Sat 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Old Neighborhood Grill is a long-time neighborhood favorite in the Near Southside. The service is prompt and friendly, and the food is downright awesome. Vegetarian breakfast picks include French toast, breakfast tacos and omelets with tons of veggies to choose from, hash browns, biscuits, and migas. For lunch and dinner, they offer two kinds of veggies burgers, a grilled cheese, and copious veggie sides, including sweet potato fries, green beans, corn, curly fries, rice pilaf, and many, many more.
Sidewalk or patio dining: Yes
Pedestrian Access: Nearby 8th Avenue is high-traffic, and sidewalks on Park Place are small. Watch for traffic and parking cars.
Bicycle Access: Sharrowed & signed bike route on side street, no dedicated bike racks.
Transit access: The T bus route #6
Car access: Parking in front.
Chadra Mezza
1622 Park Place
Near Southside
Mon-Sat: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
http://www.chadramezza.com/
Chadra is a long-time favorite in the Near Southside, and serves up a variety of Lebanese and Italian dishes in a festive atmosphere on Park Place just off 8th Avenue. Many dishes are either vegetarian or can be made so upon request. Greek Salad, Spaghettini, Fettucini Alfredo, Penne a la Vodka, Shawarma, the Mezza, Garlic Knots, Hummus, Manakish, Babaganouj, Balila, Tabouli, Falafel Wrap, Vegetarian Pizza, Eggplant Parmigiana, Tortellini Alfredo, and more – there’s always something vegetarian at Chadra.
Sidewalk or patio dining: Yes
Pedestrian Access: Nearby 8th Avenue is high-traffic, and sidewalks on Park Place are small, but usually not a problem
Bicycle Access: Sharrowed & signed bike route to the rear, no dedicated bike racks.
Transit access: The T bus route #6
Car access: Parking on-street and in back.
