When Fort Worth restaurant business partners Jeff Payne and Jason Cross started working on a new restaurant concept, the first thing you may have expected them to do was, actually, the last thing they wanted to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a plot twist no one saw coming, the co-owners of Cousin\u2019s Barbecue have embarked on an unexpected journey: The Mont, a fine-dining restaurant in far west Fort Worth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is meat on the menu, to be sure \u2014 quite a bit, in fact. A 20-ounce rib-eye, Wagyu beef tartare, a burger if you sit in the bar, a New York strip. But there\u2019s not a sliver of pork belly, a single rib, or a slab of brisket to be found.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what\u2019s funny? I was chatting with my sister-in-law, and she had told her friends we were opening a new restaurant,\u201d Cross says. \u201cAnd what\u2019s funny is, she said her friends got excited when they found out it wasn\u2019t going to be barbecue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was affirmation, Cross says, the two were on the right track. On a hill that overlooks Interstate 20 near Montserrat, they have created an exquisite dining experience that is far removed from the world of barbecue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The menu, rather, is decidedly New American. In addition to the aforementioned meat dishes, highlights include duck served two ways, roasted breast and a fried thigh; roasted monkfish tail with truffle vinaigrette; a double long-bone pork chop; and a rotating, housemade pasta. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The showstopping dish is, without a doubt, the Irodori Wagyu tomahawk \u2014 a 42-ounce cut of beef from a crossbreed of Wagyu and Black Angus cattle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of steaks, there\u2019s really nothing else out there like it,\u201d Cross says. \u201cIt\u2019s rich, buttery, tender. We may be the only restaurant in Texas to serve it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Small plates include decadent lobster hush puppies with truffle aioli and deviled eggs topped with caviar. Lighter choices include red snapper ceviche and scallops with butter-lemon sage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The restaurant marks a return to Fort Worth for Michael Arlt, former executive chef at Beast & Co., a shortly lived but forward-thinking global cuisine restaurant in the Near Southside. Arlt, the culinary director for Around the Fire Hospitality, brought aboard Michael Duff, formerly of Eddie V\u2019s Prime Seafood, as executive chef.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got this group of hopelessly devoted foodies,\u201d says Cross, who spent years working in Fort Worth\u2019s Tex-Mex scene before joining Payne at Cousin\u2019s. \u201cWe all come from different backgrounds and bring something unique to the table. So, as far as the menu is concerned, the sky\u2019s the limit.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Designed by Fort Worth architectural firm Maven, the 7,400-square-foot space has a sophisticated, midcentury vibe \u2014 a handsome, groovy blend of rich mahogany wood, plush leather seating, and gorgeous chandeliers crafted by Fort Worth-based Stage Works.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Plans for Cross and Payne to deviate from barbecue have been in the works for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea to do something different, something other than barbecue, is a conversation Jeff and I have been having for a long, long time,\u201d Cross says. \u201cWe started talking and making plans, and then the world turned up on its end. Fortunately, we were able to get through COVID, and after we did, we regrouped and started putting together a plan.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
That plan also includes Beverly\u2019s Downtown, a forthcoming elevated Mexican restaurant opening later this year in the basement of the historic Hogan Building at 901 Houston St. Cross says he\u2019s hoping it\u2019ll open by the end of the year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still love barbecue, of course,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we also love other types of food. The city\u2019s growing and its palate is, too. We see these restaurants as opportunities to show people what else we can do and what else Fort Worth can do.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n