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TruFire Kitchen and Bar ~ Southlake, Texas


Latest visit: Jan 2018

First visit: Dec 2013

It had been many a year since we last dined at TruFire. A little bit over 3 years in fact (late 2014). TruFire had been one of my go-to restaurants for business lunches, but once that slowed down, I just never returned. Well Mrs. RJG and I finally ended that, and headed over for dinner one recent evening. And we fell into lockstep and she got the Spicy Garlic Noodles and I the Chicken Parmesan. Still excellent! TruFire maintains its 4 star rating.

TruFire is the modern kind of American restaurant that is chef driven, but not necessarily expensive or overly fru-fru. The menu is definitely Mediterranean focused, with a specific Italian flair. After ordering a bottle of wine, we decided to try the The Board (fka The Paddle Board) appetizer which is a sampler of high quality meats, cheeses, spreads, and breads. It was quite good. The Mrs. RJG likes the Spicy Garlic Noodles, which I would describe as an Asian/Italian fusion with shrimp, chicken, arugula, prosciutto, romano cheese, mushrooms, and crushed red pepper. I personally go for the chicken parm. Since none of the official Italian restaurants in NE Tarrant know how to make it, this is the only place I can enjoy the timeless dish. They have a "small" portion and a large. Go with the small. Believe me, it is a full serving by itself and I could not imagine devouring a large. Large, small, makes no difference if it isn't any good. Ah... but it is. Fantastic in fact! Easily the best chicken parm I've had in the area. No longer does one have to venture to Dallas for this dish. A nicely seasoned and breaded mix and then it's baked to perfection. It's actually crispy like it's supposed to be! It's served with linguini. I tend to be a traditionalist, and want something similar to spaghetti, but I was willing to go with the flat noodle. The other issue I have with linguini, is most places don't know how to cook it, and leave it mushy. Not TruFire! It was al dente. And the pomodoro sauce is delicious, very similar to what you would actually get in Italy rather than New York.

One of the anomalies of TruFure is that they do not have beer taps. Kind of a bummer, but their wine prices aren't that bad! While certainly not cheap, I've seen far worse at establishments such as this.

With great food and reasonable prices, consider TruFire a regular stop on the RJG tour.

TruFire sits in the SW corner of the Southlake Town Square, near the Del Frisco Grill. If memory serves, there were a couple of sports bars here prior, which is the wrong location for that type of venture. And TruFire has clearly made it so far. TruFire also has a location in Frisco.

12/26/13 (new entry); 11/19/14; 1/21/18
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