The Dish: Fall in the Fort helps diners squash autumnal cravings

As hinted in my previous column, I’m coming to you with more autumnal foodie offerings this week. And, because I will most likely find out about even more new menus in the coming days, I reserve the right to bring out some more fall finds for you next week, should the spirit of the season move me.

By the way, I hope you all enjoyed last week’s article. How many of you understood all of my ’90s TV references? I hope you all did, because there will be a test later, and I would hate to give anybody a failing grade.

You’ll see squash several times throughout this column, whether we’re talking butternut or pumpkin. But don’t worry, there are also salads and sandwiches, if you’re not a fan of the winter fruits. And before you ask, I do consider burgers a type of sandwich. Don’t try to argue with me on this one. That’s just the way it is.

Squash bisque at Taste Community Restaurant

Salads, soups, curry and flatbreads are on the menu at Taste Community Restaurant. They’re dishing out butternut squash bisque with brown butter and sage leaves, while the Fall Salad brings grilled chicken together with toasted farro, fennel, apples, grapes and arugula dressed with an apple cider vinaigrette. 

Another soup option is the ribollita, a Tuscan vegetable soup made with white beans, kale, carrots, onion, celery and pancetta. It comes with croutons and Parmesan.

For a little kick, there’s hot honey flatbread with ricotta, arugula, walnuts and chili honey, but a non-spicy sandwich is also available: the miso-marinated Autumn Burger with kabocha squash and sweet potatoes. The latter adds some extra protein via fried egg, and aromatics come in the form of green onions and miso sauce.

Throughout October, the restaurant’s Celebrity Chef Dinner & Fundraiser Series will bring notable local chefs Preston Nguyen, Jon Bonnell and Yia Medina into its Arlington and Fort Worth kitchens to benefit Taste Project. The organization serves all diners “regardless of financial means” and runs on a pay-what-you-can model. 

1200 S. Main St., Fort Worth; 817-759-9045

200 N. Cooper St., Arlington; both locations share a phone number

State Fair of Texas-inspired burger at Rodeo Goat

October in North Texas is State Fair season, so Rodeo Goat has a fair-themed Big Tex burger on the menu for a limited time. According to their socials, the beef patty is piled high with a chicken-fried mashed potato cake, along with bacon, an onion ring and chorizo gravy. 

The Big Tex is one of the highlighted options in the eatery’s Battle of the Burgers, pitted against the Honey Bacon Blue, a beef patty stuffed with blue cheese butter, honeyed bacon bits, fried kale and curry mayo.

Burgers can be made with chicken or turkey patties upon request, and anyone wishing to forgo meat can get a homemade vegan or Impossible version.

For a pumpkiny closer, there are Pumpkin Spice Goat Balls — dough stuffed with cheesecake filling, deep-fried and tossed in sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Autumn beers on offer are Lakewood Brewing Punkel and Saint Arnold Oktoberfest.

2836 Bledsoe St., Fort Worth; 817-877-4628

Squash risotto and poached pear salad at Café Modern

Café Modern’s fall menu arrives Oct. 15, and chef Jett Mora said he’s been thinking about it since spring, as his “seasonality clock” is always ticking. Prominent ingredients include squash, pomegranate seeds and nutmeg.

Mora said his favorite on the new menu items is the butternut squash risotto topped with maple-glazed bacon. He said another contender for first place is the red wine-poached pear salad, which highlights a whole pear poached in red wine and spices –– cinnamon, nutmeg and bay leaf –– and topped with walnuts and blue cheese.

Look, too, for the popular pot pie to be served in regular and mini sizes, and a revamped shrimp cocktail and a seasonal cheeseburger.

“I think every restaurant should have a good cheeseburger,” Mora said.

Desserts include a pumpkin blondie with Bavarian white chocolate and apple tart tatin dressed in a Jack Daniel’s caramel sauce. 

He said the shift in seasons is notable in the smell of spices in the air around the kitchen, and that he’s received a lot of comments pointing that out. The menu will also include seasonal drinks. Several mocktails are available.

3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth; 817-840-2186

We’d love to hear from you! Send your restaurant tips and hot takes to [email protected]. 

Erin Ratigan is a freelance journalist and writer specializing in narrative news features. You can find her on X @erinratigan.