Cowhands and culture in Fort Worth

Southern Living, Spring 2002 by Thomas, Les

You don't have to sell a herd to enjoy a weekend in Cowtown for less than $500.

No use trying to hide it-I love Fort Worth. I like brick streets, barbecue, and fiery sunsets. I like enchiladas at Joe T.'s and chicken-fried steak at Massey's. I like the way the skyline looks when you're driving into town and see it rising out of the prairie. I like the city because it's laidback and a visit doesn't cost a fortune. So put on your boots, and mosey on over for a weekend real soon.

Friday in Sundance Square

Sundance Square, the dining and entertainment district in downtown Fort Worth, kicks up its heels on Fridays. The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy used to hide out here back when it was known as Hell's Half Acre. They wouldn't recognize the place now.

If you're new in town, stranger, brush up on Cowtown heritage showcased in the free exhibit "150 Years of Fort Worth," at Fire Station No. 1. Sundance Square is also a great place to browse shops that spread over a 20-- block area in vintage buildings near the Tarrant County Courthouse.

When you've worked up an appetite, hunker down for the pan-- roasted quail ($22) at Angeluna. The restaurant across from the Bass Performance Hall welcomes preshow audiences wearing everything from T-shirts to tuxedos. Spend the rest of your evening listening to heavenly music at the 2,056-seat hall. Outside, two towering angels watch over this well-redeemed Hell's HalfAcre. Ought to make you sleep like a baby.

If you want to bunk downtown, check in at the Courtyard by Marriott-- Downtown ($99-$165, [817] 885-- 8700) or the Clarion Hotel at the Performing Arts Center ($59-$79, [817] 332-6900). In the Stockyards National Historic District, rates start at $125 at Miss Molly's Bed & Breakfast ([817] 626-1522).

Saddle Up for Saturday

Enjoy breakfast at la Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe in Sundance Square; then head for the Stockyards National Historic District for the 11:30 a.m. cattle drive. Cowhands drive cattle along the brick streets of Exchange Avenue each morning and afternoon.

The Tarantula Steam Train pulls out of Stockyards Station at noon for an hour-long ride. It'll get you back in time for lunch at Riscky's Barbecue. The $9.95 all-you-can-- eat beef ribs rubbed with "Riscky Dust" are cooked to perfection.

You'll find Texas specialties and gifts in the shops at Stockyards Station. Look for handcrafted purses at the Leather Trading Company, and taste samples of the state's best vineyards at Lone Star Wines.

In nice weather, sit outdoors at Joe T. Garcia's, a restaurant near the Stockyards. Order the family-style dinner, served with cheese enchiladas, beef tacos, guacamole, rice, and beans ($9.25). When the sun goes down, scoot your boots across one of the world's biggest dance floors at Billy Bob's Texas, listen to Western music at the White Elephant Saloon, or watch cowhands try to stay in the saddle at Cowtown Coliseum, where rodeos are held each weekend.

Sunday: Critters and Culture University Drive links the city's cluster of art museums, botanical gardens, zoo, and Texas Christian University campus. All sorts of Lone Star State critters are at home at the new Texas Wild! exhibit at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Massey's Restaurant at 1805 Eighth Avenue serves some of Texas' best chicken-fried steaks ($6.25). For dessert, order a slice of homemade coconut pie.

Cap your day with a visit to the Amon Carter Museum. Cowboys gallop across the canvases of masters Remington and Russell, and the American frontier unfolds in the landscapes and paintings that grace spacious galleries of the museum.

On your way out, be sure to stop at the outside terrace that the museum calls its front porch. Here you can admire a view that seems perfect for a city that treasures its Western roots. On a grassy hill stands a lone mesquite tree-maybe one of the few ever planted on purpose-and the gleaming Fort Worth skyline rises in the distance. LES THOMAS

For more information

Contact the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau, 415 Throckmorton, Fort Worth, TX 76102; (817) 336-8791, 1-800-- 433-5747, or www.fortworth.com.