by Andrew Chalk
It has a quirky name and a slightly quirky location (being a few blocks away from two hot restaurant areas) but Fort Worth’s Clay Pigeon gave me one of the best-prepared meals that I have had this year when I attended as a media guest. Add to the food, a good wine list and thoughtful, attentive service in a restored brick dining room with lots of free parking right outside and you have all the elements of a successful destination restaurant. In fact, visitors to Fort Worth, driving from Dallas or elsewhere, should consider putting Clay Pigeon at the top of their list for New American food while in the city for the museums, performing arts, the rodeo or shopping. It is nearby all those things, but not embedded in one of the restaurant ‘clusters’.
Don’t be fooled by what realtors call the ‘drive up appeal’. It looks like a gas station because it started life that way. Although Clay Pigeon wasn’t on the site quick enough to symbolically preserve one of the gas pumps as did one restaurant in a former gas station that I once visited. Inside, the walls have been sanded back to the brickwork. It makes for a warm, inviting space with maybe too much squareness to be called ‘cosy’. On one side is a shaft of light from the open kitchen and at the back a functional bar that turns out specialty cocktails. The design keeps noise levels reasonable for conversation. Continue reading →
