Enjoy TruFire's Texas pecan and fig salad and chicken sandwich with a chilled white wine this summer on the patio.
TruFire Kitchen & Bar Delivers Delicious Fare in the Square
When it was announced late last year thatbrTruFire would take over the Southlake Town Square Main Street space oncebroccupied by Jack's Porch and sports tavern X's And O's, many locals wonderedbrhow long the restaurant would last. Then the progressive American concept,brwhich serves from-scratch Mediterranean- and Italian-inspired dishes, handcraftedbrspecialty cocktails and house-made syrups and sours, opened May 30 to ravebrreviews and big crowds. With a casual-meets-upscale vibe and spacious patio,brTruFire's Southlake location — its second following the successful flagship inbrFrisco, conceived by restaurateurs David Kazarian and Jay Clark — is quicklybrbecoming a popular place to dine.
Inbrearly June, we headed over to the restaurant during lunchtime to see what allbrthe fuss was about. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, so we opted to enjoy ourbrmeal indoors. As the cordial hostess led us to a high tabletop, we noticed manybrother tables were already packed with people. Immediately after we were seated,brthe waitress arrived to take our drink orders — iced tea and club soda withbrlime for a midday work lunch — while we browsed the menu. Trufire's take onbrappetizers included unique plates like crab dip, fire-charred artichoke andbrPhilly bruschetta. We settled on their sweet fries ($8), which were thick-cut,brspritzed with a lemon-zest and spice blend, sprinkled with Parmesan and servedbrwith tasty garlic ketchup and a lemon aioli. We won't hesitate to admit that webrscarfed them down.
Itbrwas even harder to choose a main course, but we ended up selecting the Texasbrpecan and fig salad with chicken ($11 for a small/$17 for a large) and thebrchicken sandwich on a whole-wheat bun ($10). The salad, a TruFire customerbrfavorite, consisted of fresh organic greens, pears and peppered sweet Texasbrpecans all tossed with crumbled bleu cheese and black mission fig dressing. Thebrchicken sandwich, one unlike we've ever experienced, came succulently grilled andbrtopped with mixed greens, prosciutto, mozzarella, garlic, tomatoes and mayobrplus flavorful Italian dressing — the side of thin-cut fries provided a lightbrcontrast to the sweet fries appetizer.
TruFirebroffers many more distinctive dishes, from pizza (dough made fresh daily) tobrspicy garlic noodles (tossed with shrimp and chicken) to the turkey burgerbr(lean meat topped with manchego cheese), as well as dessert delicacies like flourlessbrchocolate cake and a caramelized banana split. With a sizeable wine selectionbrand 3 to 7 p.m. happy hour daily, TruFire should quickly establish itself as abrgo-to eatery during Southlake's relaxing summer days.