craveRADIO: Meet Jon Bonnell And Liz Scobee

by Steven Doyle photos by Robert Bostick

This week on craveRADIO we hosted some pretty special guests. First we had on Jon Bonnell who owns a trio of restaurants in Fort Worth. He has Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine which has been open for 12 years now, serving up plenty of Texas game. Bonnell was sourcing local products way before it was the hip thing to do, and has a vast network of farmers and ranchers he relies on each day.

In addition to his eponymous restaurant, Bonnell also runs his latest entry in Fort Worth, Waters. Waters is all about fresh seafood and has been a runaway success. At Waters you will find a rotating list of a dozen varieties of oysters, freshly flown in coastal seafood and a few interesting non-seafood items like a rabbit loin and a pork porterhouse.

The chef also owns Buffalo Bros. Pizza, Wings & Subs near TCU in Fort Worth where he serves up, well, pizza, wings and subs to the hungry college crowd.

Bonnell will be competing in a triathlon in just a few weeks and is in his peak condition, having lost plenty of weight, slimming down to his current svelte self. It is obvious that Bonnell is enjoying life, and you hear it well in this fun interview.

Also on the show our friend from Tullamore Dew dropped by with a friend. The brand ambassador Mossie Power brought a friend with him once again, and we enjoyed cocktails conjured by Liz Scobee who reps Stolichnaya Vodka. Liz is hosting several events in the coming weeks including a Cowboy’s watching party at Capital Pub on Henderson. She is offering free Stoli copper mugs to take home when you order one of her signature Moscow Mules. She has several recipes we discuss that use her pepper vodka, and a vanilla version. Both are delicious in the mules. Scobee will also be hosting the anniversary party at Vickery Park.

We gave away a few per-opening seats to a dinner tomorrow night at Trinity Groves restaurant Kitchen LTO which opens to the public this Wednesday. Our co-host/ chef Uno also brought in her newly appointed bar manager for Chino Chinatown, Ian Reilly. Ian shared with us some of his ideas for the restaurant which opens November 11, 2013.

We probably had more fun during the show than necessary, but it is why we do it each week. Please join us next week when we host chef Dean Fearing who owns his classic Texas inspired restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dallas. We will also kick it with our friend Charlie Pap from the Windmill. Charlie is considered the very best barman in the city, and he always has a few tales to spin.