Campestre Chula Vista, in Fort Worth, is a massive ode to Michoacan cooking, the work of the same guys that brought you Revolver Taco and are expected to open a new restaurant in Deep Ellum later this year.
The Deep Ellum location is still a ways off, though, and back in Forth Worth, things are trucking along quite nicely. The Campestre is by no means a finished product, but there are tables for dinning indoors and out, a colorful fresh coat of paint laps every paintable surface in bright pinks, oranges and blues, and festive music flows from speakers, seemingly from every direction.
Keep your eyes on the task at hand and not the scenery, though. Despite the sprawling patio, several dining rooms, a handful of lounges, banquets and a dungeon complete with hidden tunnels, the most exciting thing you'll encounter here are the artfully described dishes on the menu. Many, like the chile en nogada, you might have seen at Revolver Taco. The stuffed chile sprinkled with pomegranate gems is no less vibrant here. The tacos made with pillow-soft tortillas and goat cooked down to shreds will all seem familiar, too, though some of the dishes have gotten some modest tweaks.
Still, the menu feels fresh even if it's just the inspiring background. Dine here in the early evening and you'll be able to take in an inspiring sunset. Ignore that your picturesque dining scene is buried behind a mostly defunct strip mall and look out onto the tree-lined horizon instead. Breathe deeply from just above your plate of duck mole that smells of earth and spice and raisins. This is good living.
Decades ago, these grounds served as a speakeasy, according to the staff, but the property serves as a banquet and wedding hall now. The owner made an attempt at a restaurant that didn't work too well, so he teamed up with the Revolver folks came in to pick up the slack.
They've picked it up and more. And if Campestre Chula Vista is any indication of what we're to expect in Deep Ellum, we all should be very excited about our dining options later this year.