Wandering Through the Suburban Dining Gridlock of Fort Worth We Find a Real Owner-Operated Restaurant
Fort Worth, like any large Texas city, has an accommodating and bustling downtown area with genuinely good restaurants. But as a city spreads out (as has often happened in Texas with the availability of virtually endless amounts of land) a series of seemingly never ending subdivisions and sprawling apartment complexes gradually appear. To serve the dining needs of these newer residents, vast numbers of chain restaurants pop up in a variety of newly constructed strip malls.
So on a recent trip to Fort Worth after the obligatory stops at the Kimball Museum and the stockyards et al., we kind of moseyed our way out past the city limits to nascent suburbs like Justin, Roanoke, Westlake, Keller Burleson, and others in search of some original food.
Yeah … welcome to strip mall city! I have never seen such a large conglomeration of places like Panda Express, Pizza Hut, Buffalo Wild Wings, Panera Bread, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and dozens of the big, requisite drive-thru hamburger chains.
Block after weary block we kept looking. Then, virtually out of nowhere, we found a family-owned Italian place in Euless called Saviano’s Italian Kitchen. I don’t think anyone will mistake this place for Rao’s in New York City but, as Shakespeare wrote, It gleamed “… Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear.”
We began with a classic Caprese salad that had really nice tones. Next up the calamari with a crunchy batter that did not impair the flavor as can often be the case with similar preparations. Very decent garlic knots as well.
And Kudos to their Mediterranean salad as well. This crackling foray into innovation was a neat blend of crisp romaine lettuce, marinated artichoke hearts, and my favorite kalamata olives blended well with a nice vinaigrette.
Our first entree was little neck clams with linguine in a savory olive oil and garlic sauce. Next up was a very pleasant penne alla vodka with a piquant yet mellow sauce. My only suggestion would be to eschew the beef in favor of some classic Italian sausage. Ahh …magic!!
The last dish was a surprise, especially for an Italian restaurant: the Cajun pasta. My instincts told me to pass on this dish but the gambler inside of me whispered “go for it.”
And I did and I was not disappointed. The deep, complex, savory flavors of a vintage Cajun pasta created the exceptional mouth feel that can only come with an exceptional execution of this classic.
Saviano’s roots reach back to the 1950s on Long Island. Surely there were no strip malls back then. The image of our own Broken Spoke comes to mind: totally surrounded by commercial and residential real estata, yet hanging in there, as always!
So if you are ever in Euless, please mosey over to Saviano’s and watch what happens when old kicks the crap out of new. 🙂
Saviano’s Italian Kitchen
300 N Main St.
Euless, TX 76039
(817) 283-3121
