Lonesome Dove Anniversary Menu - The sea course takes a dip into colorful waters. (Photo by Daniel Hooks)
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Lonesome Dove Anniversary Menu - The sweet course includes a churro with three sauces. (Photo by Daniel Hooks)
Source:When you reach the 25-year mark, it’s known as a silver anniversary, and after 25 years in the restaurant business, Tim Love’s hair has donned the appropriate shade ― his dirty blonde is now solidly silver. After all, the restaurant biz can be brutal, and this serial restauranter has had to fold a few concepts over the years, but Love has taken his chances on quite a few winning hands as well ― proving the critics and nay-sayers wrong all along the way. But it all started in The Stockyards at his famous Lonesome Dove Western Bistro.
“I’m a sucker for authenticity,” Tim Love tells Fort Worth Digital Diary. “And, for me, The Stockyard’s is the definition of authenticity. I mean, you walk in a place like The White Elephant [which he also owns] and think there’s no way this is ever going away.”
It was also simply the right place to plant a menu like Lonesome Dove, one that became synonymous with modern Western cuisine.
Tim Love has invested a lot into the area over the years, championing The Stockyards when it was still a bit time-worn ― a dusty shadow of its former glory. Over the past quarter-century, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro has fed off its authentic locale, and in turn, the restaurant’s charm has reinforced the historic district, which has now been revitalized to stunning effect. One of the top tourist attractions in the entire state.
While Lonesome Dove Western Bistro has expanded to Austin and Knoxville, Tennessee, Love has built a local portfolio that includes Queenie’s Steakhouse in Denton, Woodshed Smokehouse, as well as Gemelle and Hotel Otto, both in Fort Worth’s River District. But the majority of Tim Love’s dining and entertainment offerings can be found in The Stockyards ― his White Elephant Saloon, Love Shack, Atico, Paloma Suerte, Caterina’s, and Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall.
“People can’t see the hardships you face and what all goes into training staff and maintaining standards,” Love says. “It’s not a zero to hero situation. It’s hard work. That’s what gets you to 25 years. Most people don’t think about that, but I have been thinking a lot about it lately as Lonesome Dove reaches 25 years.”
With so many new restaurants opening each year, Lonesome Dove’s menu has always explored Western traditions ― cattleman classics and wild game, paired with globally inspired flavors. Its creative spirit is what made it a hit in the first place.
“We’ve always been exactly who we are,” he says. “In the age of social media success, it’s not begging for likes.”
Creating and nurturing any business through the ups and downs of 25 years is a feat. So, this May, Love has created a very special 25-course retrospective tasting menu to celebrate the occasion.
“On May 1, Chef Love will invite friends, family, longtime supporters, and a few special guests to celebrate the occasion at Lonesome Dove,” according to a release.
Then, the 25-course tasting menu will be available for guests to savor, for four days only, from Saturday, May 2 through Tuesday, May 6.
The celebratory experience is $250 per person, and all members of each party must participate in the tasting menu and a supplemental wine pairing and a full wine list is available.
But how do you choose just 25 dishes? It’s a collection of “old hits and new iterations,” Love tells Fort Worth Digital Diary. “I’m really proud of it. The meal takes two and half hours, and it flows a lot better than you’d think it would.”
The meal is divided into five flights ― Sea, Air, Land, Beef, and Sweet. Some of the tantalizing dishes include a bright and briny snapper ceviche and a rich, earthy quail oatmeal with black truffle. Wild game takes center stage in the land flight, with dishes like a kangaroo larb taco and Love’s famous rabbit and rattlesnake sausage is incorporated into a dumpling.
The beef flight honors Texas cattle raisers with a garlic-stuffed tenderloin and Western plaid hash as well as a snow-aged Wagyu. The final sweet flight “is both nostalgic and inventive, featuring the Ancho Chili Chocolate Cake that helped Love secure victory on Iron Chef America,” they say.
Tim Love won his Iron Chef title in 2007. Most recently, he competed but didn’t make it past the first round of the Season 6, Tournament of Champions on Food Network.
“I’m not making excuses, I lost, but I was going up against Rocco DiSpirito, who’s one heck of a chef,” Love explains. “Plus, he’s been a judge for years, so he knows the game of the game. Everyone said my dish had the flavors, but I didn’t use the ‘randomizer’ enough.”
Tim Love hints that he’ll be back for another round soon. He says he loves food competitions and the Food Network.
He just wrapped up the third annual Fort Worth Music Festival (of which he is a co-founder) and says that plans for the fourth edition are already underway.
“The Music Festival was great,” Love says. “It flowed well, and we hope that it will be double in size by next year.”
He also has another new concept in the works. Love has been eyeing the former George’s Specialty Foods spot near Gemelle and Hotel Otto for years. He plans to open Stewart’s Croquet & Cocktails in the River District soon. There will be more on that opening in a future article. So, follow Fort Worth Digital Diary for more, and don’t forget to check back often.
Throughout 2025, Lonesome Dove will commemorate the milestone with additional elements, including a special 25th Anniversary cookbook, which is still to come.
