Fort Worth Smart Hotel’s Showcase Restaurant Gives a Steakhouse Legit Seafood Power — Your First Look at Wicked Butcher
January 31,2020
See full Paper City article by Courtney Dabney here.
Fort Worth’s Art Deco Sinclair Building has been completely re-envisioned by its owner Farukh Aslam and Marriott Hotels.
Now the former Sinclair Oil Company’s headquarters, complete with its stylistic Zigzag Moderne elements, has shaken off the decades and become the city’s first-ever smart hotel ― a showcase for cutting-edge technology and design.
The hotel has debuted two “wicked” new venues as well. Wicked Bar opened in December, just off the hotel lobby ― providing daily breakfast, lunch and a select dinner menu, along with a full bar and mixologist crafted cocktails. Now, Wicked Butcher― DRG Concepts’ take on a modern steakhouse — is also open, serving its first dinners this week.
“Our Dallas Fish Market is a seasonally focused fine dining seafood restaurant,” Wicked Butcher chef Richard Triptow tells PaperCity Fort Worth. “Wicked Butcher is a meshing of that and the best of Dallas Chop House brought together.”
The idea is that Fort Worth diners will not have to choose with Wicked Butcher bringing fine seafood and steaks together in one showcase restaurant.
Triptow heads the culinary operations at Wicked Butcher. He and Chef Austin Carlson have both been involved with shaping the Wicked Butcher menu since it the restaurant was first announced last year.
Triptow has led the kitchens at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Lakewood Country Club, The Mandalay Four Seasons and the Pine Creek Cookhouse in Aspen. He is also behind both Dallas Fish Market and Dallas Chop House ― two of DRG’s other headliners. The restaurant group’s more casual Wild Salsa and Chop House Burger brands have restaurants in both Dallas and downtown Fort Worth as well.
DRG’s Oven and Cellar will be the next to open. It’s set to bring a taste of Italy to Fort Worth’s City Place this spring.
Wicked Butcher’s Dual Power
Triptow is obsessed with sourcing and sustainability. All seafood dishes are constructed to show off the fish. That begins with knowing exactly where it comes from. Take for instance, Wicked Butcher’s signature Ginger Miso White Soy Swordfish dish. The star of the plate is the fish itself, flanked by basmati rice, cashew and a green apple curry nage sauce.
Another example is the Seared Verlasso Salmon served with roasted parsnips, parsley puree and a lemon caper butter. Triptow sources the salmon from Verlasso salmon farms in Patagonia. It is his go-to for sustainably farm-raised salmon.
“Each salmon is tagged,” Triptow says. “So you can actually trace your fish back 10 generations. The salmon is the star of the plate. It has a bold flavor, color and taste.”
Wicked Butcher also brings a raw bar, featuring three top oyster varieties ― Rappahannock and Olde Salts from Virginia and Duxbury oysters from Massachusetts. Triptow says the dynamic plating of his jumbo shrimp cocktail complements The Sinclair’s sleek styling. Four U-10 shrimp are served with Wicked cocktail sauce on a black plate. He has hopes to introduce sushi in the future as well.
The Wicked Butcher’s modern decor mixes seamlessly with the vintage elements that remain at The Sinclair. Warm pecan and maple dining tables, with seating for 120, blend with bright glossy white brick and tile accents. Splashes of rich emerald tones mix with modern brass fixtures, natural woods and beautiful marbles.
On the butcher side of the menu, Triptow serves both wet and dry aged beef.
“Our 28 day dry aged beef is excellent ― aged in Himalayan pink salt, that brings out a blue cheese flavor in the beef,” he says.
Another special cut is the imported Aussie Wagyu. “It is very marbleized, with a buttery taste on the tongue,” Triptow notes.
Wicked Butcher also serves cattlemen staples like a Bone in Cowboy Ribeye and a Boneless Strip of Texas Wagyu.
The culinary team, led by Triptow, will focus on simple platings and presentations. “I don’t think things need to be complicated,” he tells PaperCity.
Jason Kosmas is creating Wicked Butcher’s unique craft cocktail recipes. Along with creations like the Smoking Barrel ― featuring 16 High West double rye, Peychaud’s, Angostura, peach bitters and orange peel with smoked mesquite — Wicked Butcher boasts a lovely glass enclosed wine cave. The exhaustive wine library includes more than 1,000 bottles, with a rotating wine list of 150-plus labels available.
Wicked Butcher is open Mondays through Saturdays from 5 pm to 11 pm. With the restaurant now open, this high-tech hotel’s offerings are taking shape.
The rooftop bar at The Sinclair, (which will be known as RTB), will open later this spring on the newly created 17th floor, with sweeping views and craft cocktails. The rooftop brings multiple lounging areas and counter seating at a glass enclosed bar. It will offer a similar menu to what’s found at the lobby level Wicked Bar.
If you’re in a smart hotel, you might as well drink and eat smart as well.
Location Mentioned: Wicked Butcher