Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Cafe Brazil
Happy Independence Day, y'all!
This morning the wife and I rode to Cafe Brazil for breakfast. It is at 2880 West Berry Street in Fort Worth, just east of University in the heart of the TCU area.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Rosebud Cafe
So this morning I rode out to the Rosebud Cafe at 1519 West Rosedale Street (at 8th Avenue) for breakfast.
There are breakfast institutions in Fort Worth- Ol' South Pancake House, Paris Coffee Shop, etc., and never having been inside, I viewed Rosebud in the same light. You know, the Grand Dames of Fort Worth Diners. Maybe it was just an off-day, but Rosebud isn't part of that group. Although the restaurant was clean, the decor was tired, probably from the 1970s, and lacked the charm of other older diners.
Like I said, it may have been just an off-day for them. When you go to the other diners I mentioned earlier, there is a sense of purpose, of action. People meet there to conduct business. The movers and shakers gotta eat too, ya know? But Rosebud just doesn't have the same energy. In fact it was just about empty while I was there.
Okay, so... that's the down side. Time for the good news. First, the wait staff is friendly and prompt. My coffee cup runneth over; it was never empty. Second, for the money, the food was good. I ordered a $5.75 breakfast special that included a Belgian waffle, two eggs (ordered over medium) and bacon. It was basic greasy spoon fare, and it was perfectly executed.
The place may not have charm, but they do have good food. And reasonable prices. Sometimes you go to a restaurant that has good atmosphere but the food sucks. Sometimes the food is good but the ambiance isn't so hot. Rosebud is one of those good food places and I would definitely give them a second chance, and I probably will at some point in the future. I'm sure the decor won't change, but maybe the place will have a little more life.
While I was riding over to Rosebud, I noticed the tower of the Public Market building. I've read on Fortworthology that there is a group seeking to restore it and open it as a farmers market, so I decided to ride over and check it out. Sadly, there is no indication of activity yet. It's such a cool old building; I hope it gets fixed up.
On the way home I stopped by Trinity Bicycles and visited with Bryan and Bernie, and met Jeremy of Gallus Bicycles. Trinity has a new project going on. In addition to the local art that is finding its way onto the north wall of the shop, there is now some art on the south wall, being painted by a local art teacher.
Bernie is doing everything he can to make Trinity Bicycles a cycling destination and a cool place to hang out. If you haven't been by yet, you may want to pay them a visit at 207 South Main.
There are breakfast institutions in Fort Worth- Ol' South Pancake House, Paris Coffee Shop, etc., and never having been inside, I viewed Rosebud in the same light. You know, the Grand Dames of Fort Worth Diners. Maybe it was just an off-day, but Rosebud isn't part of that group. Although the restaurant was clean, the decor was tired, probably from the 1970s, and lacked the charm of other older diners.
Like I said, it may have been just an off-day for them. When you go to the other diners I mentioned earlier, there is a sense of purpose, of action. People meet there to conduct business. The movers and shakers gotta eat too, ya know? But Rosebud just doesn't have the same energy. In fact it was just about empty while I was there.
Okay, so... that's the down side. Time for the good news. First, the wait staff is friendly and prompt. My coffee cup runneth over; it was never empty. Second, for the money, the food was good. I ordered a $5.75 breakfast special that included a Belgian waffle, two eggs (ordered over medium) and bacon. It was basic greasy spoon fare, and it was perfectly executed.
The place may not have charm, but they do have good food. And reasonable prices. Sometimes you go to a restaurant that has good atmosphere but the food sucks. Sometimes the food is good but the ambiance isn't so hot. Rosebud is one of those good food places and I would definitely give them a second chance, and I probably will at some point in the future. I'm sure the decor won't change, but maybe the place will have a little more life.
While I was riding over to Rosebud, I noticed the tower of the Public Market building. I've read on Fortworthology that there is a group seeking to restore it and open it as a farmers market, so I decided to ride over and check it out. Sadly, there is no indication of activity yet. It's such a cool old building; I hope it gets fixed up.
On the way home I stopped by Trinity Bicycles and visited with Bryan and Bernie, and met Jeremy of Gallus Bicycles. Trinity has a new project going on. In addition to the local art that is finding its way onto the north wall of the shop, there is now some art on the south wall, being painted by a local art teacher.
Bernie is doing everything he can to make Trinity Bicycles a cycling destination and a cool place to hang out. If you haven't been by yet, you may want to pay them a visit at 207 South Main.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Our Place, N. Richland Hills
So I took my car in for some warranty work, then went with Mrs. Doohickie to help her move some stuff at her office at work. After dropping the car off we went to breakfast at a nearby diner, Our Place Restaurant at 7630 NE Loop 820 in North Richland Hills.
It's basically a Bob Evans. Without the Bob. Or the Evans. Okay, it's a former Bob Evans restaurant, but the new owners have put their own spin on the place. We were both in an omelet mood, so I got a Greek Omelet and Mrs. Doohickie got a Veggie Lovers Omelet.
It said it was a three egg omelet on the menu, but I think they lied, because it was huge. The eggs were light and fluffy and tasted wonderful. I'm a big fan of the Greek Omelet at Ol' South Pancake House and to be honest, I won't be pinned down as to which one is better. The omelets from the two restaurants are different, but both are very tasty. The food arrived quickly and my coffee cup was filled frequently.
If there was any fault with the experience, it was that the final check took a while to get to us, but that was minor. Good food, a better value than any corporate owned place (like Bob Evans). And definitely more like real home cooking than Bob Evans.
It's basically a Bob Evans. Without the Bob. Or the Evans. Okay, it's a former Bob Evans restaurant, but the new owners have put their own spin on the place. We were both in an omelet mood, so I got a Greek Omelet and Mrs. Doohickie got a Veggie Lovers Omelet.
It said it was a three egg omelet on the menu, but I think they lied, because it was huge. The eggs were light and fluffy and tasted wonderful. I'm a big fan of the Greek Omelet at Ol' South Pancake House and to be honest, I won't be pinned down as to which one is better. The omelets from the two restaurants are different, but both are very tasty. The food arrived quickly and my coffee cup was filled frequently.
If there was any fault with the experience, it was that the final check took a while to get to us, but that was minor. Good food, a better value than any corporate owned place (like Bob Evans). And definitely more like real home cooking than Bob Evans.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Food Reviews on Doohickie
Pork Torta at Mijo's Fusion
So you live in Fort Worth and don't know what you want to eat? I can help! I've been compiling posts that contain food reviews (sometimes the reviews are buried in stories about bicycle rides). I've tagged all these posts with the food tag and broke them down into breakfast and dinner (which includes both lunch & dinner actually). Oh, and there's beer, too!
All food reviews
...All breakfast reviews
......Rosebud Cafe June 25, 2010
......Our Place Restaurant June 5, 2010
......Ol' South Pancake House May 14, 2010
......Dixie House Cafe Apr 16, 2010
......Montgomery St. Cafe Feb 5, 2010
......Paco & John's Mexican Diner Jan 27, 2010
......Galligaskin' Submarines Nov 25, 2009
......Paris Coffee Shop Nov 16, 2009
......Esperanza's Sep 22, 2009
...All lunch and dinner reviews
......Mijo's Fusion April 27, 2012
......Bailey's Bar-B-Que March 2, 2012
......Shaw's Burgers & Shakes Jan 7, 2011
......City Pig BBQ Oct 29, 2010
......Magnolia Motor Lounge Oct 1, 2010
......The Spiral Diner and Bakery June 4, 2010
......Pak-A-Pocket June 2, 2010
......Los Vaqueros in the Stockyards May 28, 2010 & December 30, 2011
......Yucatan Taco Stand Feb 27, 2010
......Momma Mia's Jan 22, 2010
......Cousin's Barbecue Jan 8, 2010
......Benito's Jan 2, 2010
......La Familia Oct 18, 2009
......Buffalo Bros. Mar 22, 2009
...All beer reviews
......Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout June 4, 2010
......Shiner Smokehaus Sep 2, 2009
Friday, May 14, 2010
Ol' South Pancake House
When it comes to breakfast in Fort Worth, the elephant in the room is Ol' South Pancake House at 1509 S. University. It is a place to see and be seen, a place to finish out a night of revelry, and oh, yeah, a lot of people just have breakfast there. They are in a prime location, just off the Trinity Trail bike path at the south end of Trinity Park, but also close to the Cultural District, the Zoo, TCU, the new West 7th developments and a short ride from downtown. Location, location, location, location. So this morning, I made that my destination.
So I got on the The Old Gentleman (my Raleigh DL-1 Tourist) and started touring through Fort Worth. I followed a route north along Trail Lake, cutting through my favorite "wormhole" in Fort Worth, Foster Park, which has a path that takes you from Trail Lake & South Drive to Overton Park East without having to climb the big ol' hill between if you stick to the roads. And it's scenic.
Then a nice mellow ride through Tanglewood on the way to the Colonial Country Club area
...and out to the Trinity Trail. The section under University Drive was rebuilt and opened this spring. In this shot, the University bridge in the background. This picture really brings it to light, but May is the most verdant month in North Texas. I think the fact that it was mostly cloudy only enhanced the green tones of the pics I took on this ride.
After crossing under University the trail swings north toward Trinity Park. Just before entering the park, there is a spot to get off on Old University which takes you right to Ol' South Pancake House.
Give points for being so easy to get to by bike, but subtract points for bike parking; the best I could do was lock my bike to a handicap sign.
If you've never been to Ol' South, the deal is this: They do all the standard breakfast fare well. Waffles? You bet. French toast? Yum. But they have something I haven't seen anywhere else. It's called a German Pancake, which seems to be made from half egg and half pancake batter, producing something like either a very thin, fluffy omelet or an eggy pancake. They finish it off at your table by squeezing the juice of a lemon on it, sprinkling powder sugar on it and mixing it in to make a kind of sauce, then folding the pancake over on itself so the lemon-sugar mixture is contained inside like a filling. One pancake is too much for a lot of people, but they sell a smaller portion called a Dutch Baby. Another favorite of mine is the Greek Omelet.
This time, though, I went for the Dutch Baby with a side of sausage. After mixing in the powder sugar and lemon and folding it all up it looks like this-
It was, as always, delicious. Then I hopped on the trail,
And headed into Trinity Park
I got on the western part of the Loop Trail and enjoyed one of my favorite parks. (Click below to see my first EVAR bike film.)
At the north end of Trinity Park I got on West 7th Street and headed downtown. That route goes right by Burnett Park which is called downtown Fort Worth's backyard.
The park features a sculpture called Man With Briefcase
See that little thing on the lower left of the sculpture? That's my bike! I put that in there to give a sense of the scale of this sculpture.
It wasn't particularly warm but it was humid. Time for one more stop, this time at one of the downtown Starbucks. A bottle of water was all I needed though.
Then it was time to high-tail it home, since the rain was coming. After I got home, this swept over the area (I live near FWS+).
I got home with about 20 minutes to spare.
So I got on the The Old Gentleman (my Raleigh DL-1 Tourist) and started touring through Fort Worth. I followed a route north along Trail Lake, cutting through my favorite "wormhole" in Fort Worth, Foster Park, which has a path that takes you from Trail Lake & South Drive to Overton Park East without having to climb the big ol' hill between if you stick to the roads. And it's scenic.
Then a nice mellow ride through Tanglewood on the way to the Colonial Country Club area
...and out to the Trinity Trail. The section under University Drive was rebuilt and opened this spring. In this shot, the University bridge in the background. This picture really brings it to light, but May is the most verdant month in North Texas. I think the fact that it was mostly cloudy only enhanced the green tones of the pics I took on this ride.
After crossing under University the trail swings north toward Trinity Park. Just before entering the park, there is a spot to get off on Old University which takes you right to Ol' South Pancake House.
Give points for being so easy to get to by bike, but subtract points for bike parking; the best I could do was lock my bike to a handicap sign.
If you've never been to Ol' South, the deal is this: They do all the standard breakfast fare well. Waffles? You bet. French toast? Yum. But they have something I haven't seen anywhere else. It's called a German Pancake, which seems to be made from half egg and half pancake batter, producing something like either a very thin, fluffy omelet or an eggy pancake. They finish it off at your table by squeezing the juice of a lemon on it, sprinkling powder sugar on it and mixing it in to make a kind of sauce, then folding the pancake over on itself so the lemon-sugar mixture is contained inside like a filling. One pancake is too much for a lot of people, but they sell a smaller portion called a Dutch Baby. Another favorite of mine is the Greek Omelet.
This time, though, I went for the Dutch Baby with a side of sausage. After mixing in the powder sugar and lemon and folding it all up it looks like this-
It was, as always, delicious. Then I hopped on the trail,
And headed into Trinity Park
I got on the western part of the Loop Trail and enjoyed one of my favorite parks. (Click below to see my first EVAR bike film.)
At the north end of Trinity Park I got on West 7th Street and headed downtown. That route goes right by Burnett Park which is called downtown Fort Worth's backyard.
The park features a sculpture called Man With Briefcase
See that little thing on the lower left of the sculpture? That's my bike! I put that in there to give a sense of the scale of this sculpture.
It wasn't particularly warm but it was humid. Time for one more stop, this time at one of the downtown Starbucks. A bottle of water was all I needed though.
Then it was time to high-tail it home, since the rain was coming. After I got home, this swept over the area (I live near FWS+).
I got home with about 20 minutes to spare.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Dixie House Cafe
There's been some recent controversy about the closing of Dixie House Cafe in downtown Fort Worth. The location just south of Hulen Mall at 5401 South Hulen Street is still going strong though.
As is the issue with many breakfast cafes and strip malls, there is no dedicated bicycle parking. I had to lock up to the pole that holds up the awning.
Inside the decor looks like a steakhouse. That's because this location used to house Harrigan's Steakhouse.
The thing that Dixie House excels at is floor service. Yeah, there's a waitress that takes your order, but here, all the wait staff wait on all the customers. One benefit of this is that the coffee cup is never empty.
I ordered one of the breakfast specials. It came with everything that makes a breakfast hearty. I ordered the eggs over medium and by gosh, they nailed it- firm white, loose yoke, just the way I cook for myself at home. You'd be amazed at how many restaurants can't get this right, but Dixie House got it perfect.
The price was right, too. For good service and good food at a good price, check out Dixie House.
As is the issue with many breakfast cafes and strip malls, there is no dedicated bicycle parking. I had to lock up to the pole that holds up the awning.
Inside the decor looks like a steakhouse. That's because this location used to house Harrigan's Steakhouse.
The thing that Dixie House excels at is floor service. Yeah, there's a waitress that takes your order, but here, all the wait staff wait on all the customers. One benefit of this is that the coffee cup is never empty.
I ordered one of the breakfast specials. It came with everything that makes a breakfast hearty. I ordered the eggs over medium and by gosh, they nailed it- firm white, loose yoke, just the way I cook for myself at home. You'd be amazed at how many restaurants can't get this right, but Dixie House got it perfect.
The price was right, too. For good service and good food at a good price, check out Dixie House.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Montgomery St. Cafe
I tried the Montgomery St. Cafe. It is in a nondescript building at 2000 Montgomery Street in Fort Worth,
across the street from the Cultural District and in view of downtown.
It is so nondescript that I had no idea it was there until the folks at Fort Worth Architecture Forum told me about it. So I parked my latest bicycle acquisition out front,
and headed in. The place opened up in 1949 and it's kind of like a time capsule. The Stock Show was still in town and the guy next to me at the counter had functional spurs on. How cool is that?
I ordered one of the breakfast specials that had a couple pieces of sausage, a couple eggs, and a couple pancakes. They brought them out and my "over medium" eggs appeared to have spent no more than 15 seconds on the griddle; the whites were very runny. I sent them back and eventually got proper over medium eggs. The end effect was pretty straightforward.
Once I dug in, I realized that the eggs weren't the only thing that weren't cooked quite right. The sausage was overcooked and the pancakes were very dry and not savory at all. I really like the vintage nature of this place,
...but frankly, the food just didn't live up to classic greasy spoon cooking. Maybe it was just an off-day for them, but I was less than impressed.
across the street from the Cultural District and in view of downtown.
It is so nondescript that I had no idea it was there until the folks at Fort Worth Architecture Forum told me about it. So I parked my latest bicycle acquisition out front,
and headed in. The place opened up in 1949 and it's kind of like a time capsule. The Stock Show was still in town and the guy next to me at the counter had functional spurs on. How cool is that?
I ordered one of the breakfast specials that had a couple pieces of sausage, a couple eggs, and a couple pancakes. They brought them out and my "over medium" eggs appeared to have spent no more than 15 seconds on the griddle; the whites were very runny. I sent them back and eventually got proper over medium eggs. The end effect was pretty straightforward.
Once I dug in, I realized that the eggs weren't the only thing that weren't cooked quite right. The sausage was overcooked and the pancakes were very dry and not savory at all. I really like the vintage nature of this place,
...but frankly, the food just didn't live up to classic greasy spoon cooking. Maybe it was just an off-day for them, but I was less than impressed.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Paco and John's Mexican Diner
I'll take all the suspense out: I love this place. Paco & John's stands at 1116 8th Avenue just south of Rosedale.
The prices are reasonable and there are some items I've never seen before
The staff is friendly and made me feel at home... even though my waitress's English was not the best. They kept my coffee full and quickly made my breakfast.
On a lark I decided to order the Heuvos Divorciados ("divorced eggs"). I think the name comes from the fact that you get two eggs, one with red sauce and one with green sauce, each in its own bed (tortilla). But you get a lot more than that.
The different sauces had distinctly different flavors. I was a little iffy about this and wasn't sure I would like eggs like that, but they were delicious. Paco & John's does something magic: Their sauces are flavorful and spicy without being too hot or causing {ahem} bloating.
I've heard that they recently started serving duck enchiladas for lunch, and that they will soon be (or maybe already are) open for dinner. I can't speak to their lunch & dinner entrees (yet), but their breakfast is fabulous.
The prices are reasonable and there are some items I've never seen before
The staff is friendly and made me feel at home... even though my waitress's English was not the best. They kept my coffee full and quickly made my breakfast.
On a lark I decided to order the Heuvos Divorciados ("divorced eggs"). I think the name comes from the fact that you get two eggs, one with red sauce and one with green sauce, each in its own bed (tortilla). But you get a lot more than that.
The different sauces had distinctly different flavors. I was a little iffy about this and wasn't sure I would like eggs like that, but they were delicious. Paco & John's does something magic: Their sauces are flavorful and spicy without being too hot or causing {ahem} bloating.
I've heard that they recently started serving duck enchiladas for lunch, and that they will soon be (or maybe already are) open for dinner. I can't speak to their lunch & dinner entrees (yet), but their breakfast is fabulous.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Long Breakfast Ride
This morning's solo breakfast ride included an extensive off-road portion, a delicious breakfast, and a good deed.
I recently found Fort Worth Architecture's site, including a forum, and read a post about an abandoned rail spur not too far from my house. I decided to try to ride the spur and see what it is like.
I rode to the spot where Southwest Boulevard crosses the rail line and followed it north.
In the first section of the trail, it runs behind several back yards. The rails are gone but the road bed is still there and solid, even though it is overgrown with vegetation at places.
There is a large open area in there that would make a nice park.
The bridge that crosses Camp Bowie Boulevard is still usable, although there are too many exposed nails to actually ride a bike across it. If this were ever turned into a bike trail it would be easy to put a new deck on it though.
The next section is similar to the previous section, except that it runs between businesses and is not as overgrown.
After that there is a section where it was not really possible to follow the actual railroad bed. But it runs along the west edge of the Z Boaz municipal golf course and there are no fences to block access (on the south side there is a fence along the road, then it turns in and runs a short length, but then it just ends).
So I just rode along the edge of the golf course for most of it, and used the cart path for a good bit of it. At the north end I followed into the parking lot of a Fort Worth maintenance center that is behind Rick's Cabaret (a strip joint), then out through the Rick's parking lot.
A little north of the golf course the rail line crossed I-30. The bridge across the freeway is still there and in great shape. In fact there was fresh crushed stone on the bridge so it is being maintained. To get to that bridge, though, I had to cross the access roads (which had rail crossings when the line was active), four of them total, which carry high speed traffic.
North of the freeway the track ran just west of Ridgmar Mall. The railroad bed is prominent here; it is raised above grade level. It is easy to follow.
I crossed Route 183 at the traffic light at the west entrance to Ridgmar Mall.
From there, I picked up the trail up again behind Ridgmar Farmer's Market.
Following the rail line took me around the south end of Naval Air Station Fort Worth. There is a narrow stone trail here which I followed. As it got around the south end of the base and swung north, it got more and more rough; I almost went over the handlebars at one point. It looked like the trail ended so I jogged over toward Spur 341. (Looking at Google Maps, I don't think it ended, but it appeared that way when I was on the ground.) There is actually a barbed wire fence I had to get over to get to the Spur 341 right of way. No pictures of this; I didn't want any visits from base security.
From there to White Settlement Road, I rode on the shoulder of Spur 341. I used the White Settlement Road bridge to cross 341, then picked up the trail again. I went north on the rail path
...and it was pretty clear until I got to a creek.
The trail ended there for me because there was a sheer drop of at least 10 feet. The footings for the old rail bridge are still there. I could see the Lockheed plant from there; it was just maybe a quarter mile away.
For the return trip I followed the same path except I continued on the rail bed south of White Settlement Road.
Very passable, except that it is used as parking lot space for a private business just west of Grants Lane.
Continuing on, I got on Grants Lane (which is basically a two-way low speed frontage road for 55 mph Spur 341 which runs just east of Grants) until I got to Colton Drive and crossed 341 there. There was a break in the barbed wire fence here so I went across and picked up the path.
It wasn't on the same path I came in on; there are two paths that run parallel to each other, with a wet drainage area in between. This one was not the railroad bed, just a dirty clearing area at first, then a barely visible two-track path through the grass which, it turned out, was much easier to navigate than the path I followed originally. I encountered some pedestrians using this path to walk from the residential area west of Grants Lane to Ridgmar Mall.
The path comes together with the stone path right behind the Farmer's Market. I was hoping to grab some breakfast at the Farmer's Market but they open at 11 for lunch. I ended up getting cruising down Camp Bowie Boulevard looking for somewhere to eat and came upon Galligaskin's Submarines on Camp Bowie with signs advertising breakfast burritos.
The breakfast menu:
At last- food!
This was the "small" burrito and it was packed. It was the kind of thing that once you pick it up, you can't put it down.
I thought $2.75 for a fresh made breakfast burrito was a pretty good price.
I continued west and started to follow I-30. I rode past Arlington Heights High School, then turned around when I spied an old Schwinn locked up to the railing.
It's hard to see in the picture but the chain guard said Schwinn Panther; I would guess it was from the 1970s. Since I had stopped I decided to take a few pictures of AHHS which is a classic old school building.
Since it now faces out toward I-30, the effect of Western Avenue, a stately medianed boulevard feeding into the front of the high school is lost. Now there is simply a pedestrian bridge over I-30.
That was enough for a breakfast ride, and I headed for home. But wait... I haven't gotten to the good deed part yet. This is Jim.
Jim is visiting daughter in Fort Worth from Iowa. He has a nice older Trek he brought with him to tour around Fort Worth. He had ridden the Trinity Trails but was attempting to loop back to his daughter's apartment on Bryant Irvin on the surface streets. Since the only map he had was a Trinity Trails map, it didn't serve well to help him navigate through the streets. I passed him and waved hi, and he waved back. I looked around and noticed that he was just kind of sitting there, not really riding, where the train trestle crosses Trail Lake near Granbury.
I pulled around and asked if he was lost and he replied, "Oh boy, am I!" So we rode Trail Lake southwest. After crossing Hulen we cut across Granbury to Granbury Cutoff and over toward the southwest hospital district. When we got to where I could give him easy directions for getting back to Bryant Irvin Road, I left him and headed back home. I heard nothing of disoriented visitors or downed cyclists in the evening news, so I can only surmise he made it back okay.
I did almost 40 miles, but with the off-road portion it felt like more than that by the time I got home!
I recently found Fort Worth Architecture's site, including a forum, and read a post about an abandoned rail spur not too far from my house. I decided to try to ride the spur and see what it is like.
I rode to the spot where Southwest Boulevard crosses the rail line and followed it north.
In the first section of the trail, it runs behind several back yards. The rails are gone but the road bed is still there and solid, even though it is overgrown with vegetation at places.
There is a large open area in there that would make a nice park.
The bridge that crosses Camp Bowie Boulevard is still usable, although there are too many exposed nails to actually ride a bike across it. If this were ever turned into a bike trail it would be easy to put a new deck on it though.
The next section is similar to the previous section, except that it runs between businesses and is not as overgrown.
After that there is a section where it was not really possible to follow the actual railroad bed. But it runs along the west edge of the Z Boaz municipal golf course and there are no fences to block access (on the south side there is a fence along the road, then it turns in and runs a short length, but then it just ends).
So I just rode along the edge of the golf course for most of it, and used the cart path for a good bit of it. At the north end I followed into the parking lot of a Fort Worth maintenance center that is behind Rick's Cabaret (a strip joint), then out through the Rick's parking lot.
A little north of the golf course the rail line crossed I-30. The bridge across the freeway is still there and in great shape. In fact there was fresh crushed stone on the bridge so it is being maintained. To get to that bridge, though, I had to cross the access roads (which had rail crossings when the line was active), four of them total, which carry high speed traffic.
North of the freeway the track ran just west of Ridgmar Mall. The railroad bed is prominent here; it is raised above grade level. It is easy to follow.
I crossed Route 183 at the traffic light at the west entrance to Ridgmar Mall.
From there, I picked up the trail up again behind Ridgmar Farmer's Market.
Following the rail line took me around the south end of Naval Air Station Fort Worth. There is a narrow stone trail here which I followed. As it got around the south end of the base and swung north, it got more and more rough; I almost went over the handlebars at one point. It looked like the trail ended so I jogged over toward Spur 341. (Looking at Google Maps, I don't think it ended, but it appeared that way when I was on the ground.) There is actually a barbed wire fence I had to get over to get to the Spur 341 right of way. No pictures of this; I didn't want any visits from base security.
From there to White Settlement Road, I rode on the shoulder of Spur 341. I used the White Settlement Road bridge to cross 341, then picked up the trail again. I went north on the rail path
...and it was pretty clear until I got to a creek.
The trail ended there for me because there was a sheer drop of at least 10 feet. The footings for the old rail bridge are still there. I could see the Lockheed plant from there; it was just maybe a quarter mile away.
For the return trip I followed the same path except I continued on the rail bed south of White Settlement Road.
Very passable, except that it is used as parking lot space for a private business just west of Grants Lane.
Continuing on, I got on Grants Lane (which is basically a two-way low speed frontage road for 55 mph Spur 341 which runs just east of Grants) until I got to Colton Drive and crossed 341 there. There was a break in the barbed wire fence here so I went across and picked up the path.
It wasn't on the same path I came in on; there are two paths that run parallel to each other, with a wet drainage area in between. This one was not the railroad bed, just a dirty clearing area at first, then a barely visible two-track path through the grass which, it turned out, was much easier to navigate than the path I followed originally. I encountered some pedestrians using this path to walk from the residential area west of Grants Lane to Ridgmar Mall.
The path comes together with the stone path right behind the Farmer's Market. I was hoping to grab some breakfast at the Farmer's Market but they open at 11 for lunch. I ended up getting cruising down Camp Bowie Boulevard looking for somewhere to eat and came upon Galligaskin's Submarines on Camp Bowie with signs advertising breakfast burritos.
The breakfast menu:
At last- food!
This was the "small" burrito and it was packed. It was the kind of thing that once you pick it up, you can't put it down.
I thought $2.75 for a fresh made breakfast burrito was a pretty good price.
I continued west and started to follow I-30. I rode past Arlington Heights High School, then turned around when I spied an old Schwinn locked up to the railing.
It's hard to see in the picture but the chain guard said Schwinn Panther; I would guess it was from the 1970s. Since I had stopped I decided to take a few pictures of AHHS which is a classic old school building.
Since it now faces out toward I-30, the effect of Western Avenue, a stately medianed boulevard feeding into the front of the high school is lost. Now there is simply a pedestrian bridge over I-30.
That was enough for a breakfast ride, and I headed for home. But wait... I haven't gotten to the good deed part yet. This is Jim.
Jim is visiting daughter in Fort Worth from Iowa. He has a nice older Trek he brought with him to tour around Fort Worth. He had ridden the Trinity Trails but was attempting to loop back to his daughter's apartment on Bryant Irvin on the surface streets. Since the only map he had was a Trinity Trails map, it didn't serve well to help him navigate through the streets. I passed him and waved hi, and he waved back. I looked around and noticed that he was just kind of sitting there, not really riding, where the train trestle crosses Trail Lake near Granbury.
I pulled around and asked if he was lost and he replied, "Oh boy, am I!" So we rode Trail Lake southwest. After crossing Hulen we cut across Granbury to Granbury Cutoff and over toward the southwest hospital district. When we got to where I could give him easy directions for getting back to Bryant Irvin Road, I left him and headed back home. I heard nothing of disoriented visitors or downed cyclists in the evening news, so I can only surmise he made it back okay.
I did almost 40 miles, but with the off-road portion it felt like more than that by the time I got home!
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