I tend to avoid chop and steak houses, but yesterday someone told me to head to the MERCURY CHOPSHOUSE in Sundance Square (301 S. Main St) in downtown Fort Worth before attending the opera. I thought, "$40 steaks before the opera....INSANE." But I tried it and was very happy to see the MERCURY CHOPHOUSE featured much more than meat. Located in an historic building it has a dark clubby feel with lots of mini-booths of leather for two as well as large tables in an area separated from the slightly noisy bar by a low wooden wall. The ceilings are exposed and the walls have some old photos of downtown, mirrors and not much more. The lighting was a bit too dim for me at 6pm when it was sunny and 90 degrees outside.
My server Linda was a bowl full of bubbles. Water came with a huge loaf of tasty homemade sourdough bread. and I ordered the OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER to start. There were a dozen plump Gulf oysters with spinach, cream sauce, a bit of spice and topped with a crunch bread crumb topping. My FRANCISCAN SAUVIGNON BLANC was as grapefruity as a wine can get, and was a nice size Texas pour as well.
I opted for the Mussels main course which was over a pound of Prince Edward Island bivalves (that's about 24 in the shells, plus another 3 or 4 loose ones in the sauce) in a spicy Tomato-Herb sauce with Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese on top. The sauce was thinner than a marinara, but still slightly thick. There were two huge slices of the buttered toasted Sourdough on the side that were just begging to be used to mop up that sauce.
It was funny that the bus boy put the plate down and said, "here are your scallops!"
I finished with a small salad special of FIELD GREENS with HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, MOZZARELLA and Balsamic Vinaigrette. As a subscriber to the opera, we get 18% off plus free dessert at the ChopHouse! So I tasted the GRAHAM CRACKER CRUSTED LIME TART which was very rich and with a thick marzipan-cream-like topping. After two bites I finished off the macerated berries in the sauce on the side and called it a meal. All this for $44 without tip! What a deal.
