Lonesome Dove Cafe

The Lonesome Western Bistro
2406 North Main Street
Fort Worth, TX 76164
http://www.lonesomedovebistro.com/

The Lonesome Dove is a restaurant in the Stockyards of Forth Worth. I took my wife there for her birthday, followed by a Lyle Lovett concert. The place has a pretty good reputation, the chef, Tim Love, went on Iron Chef America and beat out Morimoto in a "Chile" battle. He has various accolades and TV appearances. I can't remember how I heard of the place. According the the website, the place specializes in Texas cuisine, so I just had to try it. Don't tell my wife, but I think going to the restaurant was more of a present for me than a birthday present for her.

The spread: The menu is definitely unique. There were varied choices in the appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts with unique ingredients and preparations (rattlesnake sausage, lobster hushpuppies, kangaroo tenderloin nachos, etc.). The menu changes with the seasons and there were a couple of off menu items. We started with the barbeque wild boar ribs and elk sausage sliders. We followed with a butter lettuce with applewood smoked bacon lardoons, chili pepitas, chili buttermilk dressing salad. My wife had the Roasted garlic stuffed beef tenderloin western plaid hash and syrah demi-glace and I had the Wagyu skirt steak, pomme frites and bernaisse. For dessert with had the warm ancho chili chocolate cake with pepita ice cream.

The verdict: Wow. This was a great culinary experience from start to finish. Not only was each dish unique with ingredients I hadn't tried before, it was delicious. The wild boar ribs were tender and perfectly prepared with a hint of "game". The elk sausage sliders were phenomenal. The jucy burgers were heightened by the foie gras and jam. Most surprising was that the 'strange' ingredients were absolutely delicious to my wife. The salad was also well prepared with the richness of the buttermilk being balanced by the salty lardons. The Wagyu skirt steak was out of this world delicious - so juicy, so full of beef flavor, just outstanding. My wife's tenderloin was perfectly prepared, juicy, tender and delicous (with the garlic complimenting the flavor rather than overpowering the dish). The ancho chili cake was a big hit with the wife, but it was a little too rich and dense for my taste. Definitely one of the top five best meals I have had in my life.

Edible Tyler Roses: 5 of 5, worth the 2.5 hour drive from Tyler to Ft. Worth.