[Photos: Malcolm Mayhew/EDFW]
Two months after a fire clipped its wings, Fort Worth celeb-chef Tim Love's 14-year-old flagship restaurant Lonesome Dove Western Bistro reopens today, brandishing a new outdoor deck, a new kitchen and a new menu.
"We had wanted to freshen up the place for about a year before the fire," Love said yesterday, surrounded by painters, electricians, plumbers and other workers doing last-minute tweaking before today's grand reopening. "It wasn't the best-case scenario. But [the fire] did give us that opportunity to change some things, make it better."
A new outdoor dining deck that overlooks Marine Creek should be ready to roll today, Love says. Other newities that diners will notice: a new-old tin ceiling from South Texas; new wood flooring and drapes in the main dining room; and elegant custom light fixtures, some designed by his wife, Emilie.
"The fire melted all the light fixtures in here," Love said, standing in the dining room. "But that was the main complaint I got about the place – the lighting was too dark in some spots, too bright in others. If you sat at this one table, it felt like there was a spotlight on you."
Love has also introduced a new fall menu that includes quail doused with Thai vinaigrette, chorizo and squid-ink pasta and lamb posole.
The cause of the early morning, August 20 fire that closed the restaurant is still undetermined, he says. "It was a smoldering fire of some sort that started in the back of the restaurant," he says. "That's all we know."
Lonesome Dove reopens today at 11:30 a.m.
—Malcolm Mayhew
· Lonesome Dove [Official]
· More Tim Love coverage [-EDFW-]
