Fort Worth Zoo’s Beastro 2011

by Steven Doyle

Last Friday the Fort Worth Zoo held their annual Beastro tasting and music event that features local Fort Worth restaurants that are dispersed through out the Zoo grounds. The variety of restaurants put on a fantastic showing offering small dishes to a swelling mass of guests. The object for the evening was to discover and devour. With over 25 representative restaurants it was no easy task.

We were an invited guest of one of 360 West a major sponsor for the event, and was led on a tour through out the jungles of the beautiful Fort Worth Zoo.

Making our way around the grounds we wandered past all the snakes, lizards and flamingoes and found a few interesting choices in Olenjacks Grille who was flaming blueberry crème brulees, and the interesting Tokyo Café who was grilling skewers of shashito peppers on a tiny hibachi. The peppers were smoky and blistered giving them a tiny burst of crunch with a backbeat of heat. 

Following our path towards the main common area that was littered with open bars and a stage we found even more restaurants in their tiny open tents quickly serving up their offerings. It seemed H3 Ranch and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse  had the longest lines of the evening as many of the hungry crowd were searching out their beef fix.

City Kitchen Catering offered a beautiful spread of sweets

We never found Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, but chef Jon Bonnell always has something great on a grill and was probably in plain sight.

The night grew with a more syncopated beat as several bands including the wild and woolly band Everclear took to the stage. This was obviously the headliner and the crowd screamed with each new tune.