Hi! Our daughter has begun college at TCU so we will be visiting plenty over the next four years! I would love some hotel and restaurant recommendations. Hotel (3 star or more) and reasonably close to campus. Restaurants - anything! Just no chains!
Thanks

The Art Museums (Kimball, Modern, Amon Carter) are world class, both the buildings and the collections. But I don't know where TCU is, so I am not much help. We stayed in the Stockyards area, and there were plenty of restaurants.

There's a Residence Inn By Marriott, Fairfield Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Days Inn and several other "motels" all within a 1/2 mile or so of the TCU Campus. Do a Google Search for "Fort Worth Hotels" and look for the places on University Drive (if you look at the accompanying map you'll see the actual location of each hotel in relation to the TCU Campus. There are plenty of other hotels within 4 or 5 miles of the school. If you want truly upscale stay in downtown Fort Worth (a 1 minute drive from TCU Campus) - look at the Ashton, The Renaissance and The Omni. Also in downtown is Embassy Suites, Hilton, Sheraton and a bunch more.

For restaurants, you can find everything from fast food, to chain "sit down" restaurants, to local BBQ, to mid-priced Mexican, to upscale Italian and Steak places all on "University Drive and Rosedale (again, all within 1/2 mile of the campus). If you venture a bit further there are literally hundreds of good places (Fort Worthians LOVE to dine out - many have never used there home stove). There's an up and coming area know as South 7th (one block from the intersection of University and So. 7th - about 2.5 miles from) which has no fewer than 8 new restaurants. Tell us more about what you want to eat and how much you want to spend - it will be easier to steer you in the right direction. One thing is you won't go hungry in Fort Worth.

OPPS!!! Fingers didn't work right! The downtown hotels are a 10 minute drive from the TCU Campus.

FYI - plenty of good restaurants in downtown Fort Worth, also.

Congratulations to your daughter, from a fellow Horned Frog. Yes, you'll get to know FW well. True, the list by previous poster is a good one. I'd like to add Worthington (downtown FW) as a good choice as well. Downtown FW and TCU are not that far apart. As far as restaurants, there are many to choose from. Upscale: Eddie V's (seafood), Del Frisco's (steak), Reata, Grady's, I could go on. For barbeque Railhead and Angelo's (neither are far from TCU). The place for tex mex is Joe T. Garcia's (eat outside) They don't take credit cards - be prepared to wait in line. The new hot spot development with restaurants and entertainment is So7 (south 7th st.) Downtown FW has Sundance Square with many restaurants/bars to choose from. TCU football is already exciting if you're into that - this week they're ranked above UT! Does this help? Anymore questions?

A few of my personal favorite Fort Worth restaurants:
Reata http://www.reata.net/
La Familia http://www.lafamilia-fw.com/
Bistro Louise http://www.bistrolouise.com/
McKinley's Bakery Cafe http://www.mckinleysbakery.com/
Charleston's http://charlestons.ehsrg.com/ (kind of a chain, but they only have a few locations)
The Covey http://www.thecovey.com/
and, last but not least, http://www.centralmarket.com/

The Kimball isn't world class, its special exhibitions are (and they really are top-end). Its permanent collection is limited.

Central Market isn't a restaurant, it is the high end division of the H.E. Butt grocery chain. It's like Whole Foods but has more variety (you can get a Coke there, not so at Whole Foods) and isn't quite as expensive. If you don't have Whole Foods, then it's like Sprouts, but with WAY more prepared foods and variety. Or it's like Trader Joe's, but with WAY more prepared foods and variety, and brands other than its own label. [That's all I got -- if none of the parallels apply, you're on your own].

The prepared foods at Central Market tend to be VERY good. The FW location is close to TCU, so your daughter will probably memorize its layout.

Reata's reputation is well-deserved, and it's a fun place too.

Unlike Dallas and most other southern cities, FW has a thriving downtown. See here: http://www.sundancesquare.com

And you should consider visiting the second or third weekend in April (among your other visits). Here's why: http://www.mainstreetartsfest.org/home.aspx

Sorry, I should eliminate the shorthand and clarify by saying that the Louis Kahn building at the Kimbell is world class, and the landscape design is outstanding as well. The permanent collection is indeed small but not undistinguished.

Another vote for the Worthington.

Don't miss Billy Bob's, The World's Largest Honky Tonk. It's a whole lot of fun and real good BBQ.

http://www.billybobstexas.com/

Central Market has the Cafe, which IS a restaurant. They have live music on Friday and Saturday nights. It's a small menu, but really good food!

And the Cafe at the Modern Art Museum is also really good, especially for lunch and weekend brunch. http://www.thecafemodern.com/ Looks like it will be closed through the end of September for renovations, so go in October.

Thanks everyone! I have booked the Sheraton downtown - got a good rate. And thanks for all the restaurant recommends! No one mentioned The Lonesome Dove? Is that good? Worth the money? Also, is there a really good breakfast place someone could recommend.
THANKS AGAIN!

Lonesome Dove is good, but IMHO, not worth the money for dinner (and you'll also have to pay to park). Go for lunch if you want to try it.

Just across Exchange is H3 Ranch, which I like much more. http://www.h3ranch.com/

DO NOT GO TO CATTLEMAN'S. You'll pay as much as you do at Reata and the food is not worth it!!

For breakfast:
Old South Pancake House: http://www.olsouthpancakehouse.com/
Paris Coffee Shop (no real website): 704 West Magnolia Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104-4609

I know you said no chains, but this place is still one of my very favorites for Mexican, and they do a really good brunch on weekends: http://www.unclejulios.com/

Breakfast - definitely Ol' South Pancake house - it's open 24 hours.

Panera Bread (on University) has sandwiches, soups and salads

Mellow Mushroom (off University and Bluebonnet Circle) - good pizza

Fuzzy Tacos - good college mexican food (per my daughter who just graduated from TCU)

Fred's Hamburgers (in the "south of 7th" area of FW (Off University/7th/Camp Bowie/Bailey)

Delaney's (South of 7th area)

We like Lonesome Dove but it is a bit pricey - go for lunch - same food lower prices.

New hamburger place open on Hulen across from Hulen Mall - 5 Guys Burgers & Fries, really very good!!!

If you like mussels try Sapresti's on Forest park (5 minutes from TCU).

Love Shack (run by Tim love of Lonesome Dove Fame) in So. 7th area.

The following on Magnolia (10 minutes from TCU):

Cat City Grill

Ellerbee's

Nonna Tata

Paris Coffee Shop (great for breakfast)

Also, try Sushi Axion (very popular with TCU student) - two locations one near to Central Market second in Montgomery Wards Center just down the street from So 7th and Piranha Killer Sushi (downtown FTW).

Here's another vote for the Old South Pancake House for breakfast.

Also for breakfast try Yogi's Bagels (much more than bagels) on Hulen.

For good moderately priced steaks and ribs try Casa Hofbrau (on University 3 minutes from TCU)

For upscale dining:

La Piazza
St. Emilion
Grace
Eddie V's
Bailey's
Mercury Chop House

These are but a few places, Fort Worth has enough restaurants that you can dine out every night for 6 months and not eat in the same place twice.

For a more complete list (200+ restaurants) go here: www.fortworth.com/visitors/restaurants/