Saturday, April 21, 2012

Restaurant in a Gas Station: Chef Point Cafe

We trekked out to Watauga (near Ft. Worth) to dine at a restaurant that has received good reviews and has received quite a bit of press since it's located inside a gas station.  The restaurant is called Chef Point Cafe, and it's inside . . . a Conoco gas station.  I wasn't sure what to expect and will say it exceeded my expectations.

The Place 
I thought there would be maybe 5 tables altogether.  I think there were 25?  When you enter the gas station/convenience store, you immediately see the usual wall of refrigerated drinks but then to the left of it is the hostess stand, a pew (used for seating if there's a wait) and the bar (see the interior photo below).  The convenience store part of the gas station is separated from the restaurant by a partition wall.  The owners call it 'fine dining,' but that's a bit of a misnomer.  The tablecloths are black picnic table vinyl, the plates and utensils are like what you find at Chili's or Friday's, and it has a small-town diner feel.

The Food
DELICIOUS!!!!  I ordered the "Better Than Sex Fried Chicken," and it was the best non-spicy fried chicken I've ever had.  It was fresh, tender, seasoned well, crispy and not at all oily.  While I've had better mashed potatoes and gravy, it was still very good.  The Fish Tacos were lovely as well, having a nice latent spicy kick to them, and it was refreshing to have a non-plain tortilla wrap for the tacos.  The accompanying mixed greens salad on the side was very fresh as well.  I wished I would've saved room for dessert because their Bread Pudding made with a Cognac sauce sounded heavenly.

The Service
The service we received exceeded the service we get at many fine dining establishments.  Our server was amazing -- he was very friendly and polite, seemed like he thoroughly enjoyed his job, checked on us just enough without being annoying, knew ALL 9 specials exceptionally well (they rolled off his tongue, and he didn't bore us by listing every single ingredient in the dish), and brought everything (water, drinks, food, the check) to us promptly.  I told him he was the best server we've had in years.

If you're in Ft. Worth, check out the restaurant.  I'd highly recommend it and will definitely be going back. 

http://www.chefpointcafe.org/


The Exterior of the Gas Station

The Interior of the Gas Station / Restaurant
(a partition separates the convenience store
from the restaurant)

Better Than Sex Fried Chicken
(that's the name of the dish)
Old-fashioned buttermilk marinated, tender crispy fried chicken,
served with homemade mashed potatoes and country gravy

Fish Tacos
Blackened tilapia wrapped in a flour tortilla with cole slaw
and Cajun mayo, served with a garden salad


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