In each installment of this new series, The Ladies will review a restaurant that serves (you guessed it) lunch. The Ladies are not professional food reviewers, but are enthusiastic eaters and day drinkers who enjoy each other’s company over a good meal. Here are the extremely rigorous criteria The Ladies use for choosing restaurants to review:

• The restaurant must have either a full bar or a very good wine list. (The Ladies do enjoy a cocktail or cheeky glass of wine with their meals.)
• Lunch and drink specials are a nice bonus, but are not necessary.
• The Ladies like new restaurants, but they also return to old favorites and seek out hidden gems and hole-in-the-wall spots. They are fairly catholic in their tastes, loving everything from a great burger or a big ol’ plate of enchiladas to foie gras and caviar.
• The Ladies always go local, and if they can find a women-owned restaurant, they give themselves an extra pat on the back.

Pretty impressive, no? Now that you know how The Ladies choose the restaurants they are going to review, let’s get down to said reviewing!

Recently, The Ladies met at Fort Redemption for a long lunch. It had been several months since they saw each other, so they had a lot to catch up on.

Fort Redemption is a cozy little steakhouse that serves big flavors for not a lot of money. Chef Tony Chaudry moved to a brick-and-mortar location just off Camp Bowie a little over two years ago after several years of running a very popular food truck. The interior is decorated in shades of purple and gold with a midcentury modern-esque feel. The menu isn’t extensive, which is a good thing, and the service was polite and patient as The Ladies do tend to linger over their meals.

Lunch started with two martinis, one dirty and one “clean.” The drinks were large, icy, and very well made, but the bartender forgot to include the olives in the “clean” martini. No matter. The drinks were delicious. For food, The Ladies ordered the ahi tuna on greens and the brisket tacos.

Fort Redemption’s Ahi Tuna on Greens with a Honey-Orange and Cranberry Vinaigrette

The ahi tuna on greens featured a very generous portion of tuna, which was tender and beautifully seasoned. The greens were plentiful and fresh, complemented by Oaxaca cheese and a delicious honey-orange and cranberry vinaigrette. The candied pecans in this salad were perfectly toasted, adding just the right amount of crunch. It made for a fantastic lunch, and at $24, it was quite reasonably priced.

Fort Redemption’s Brisket Tacos

The brisket tacos feature the brisket Chef Chaudry made famous on the food truck, served on corn tortillas with cilantro, white onions, Oaxaca cheese, and green salsa. The brisket was seasoned perfectly and smoked beautifully, and the tortillas were fresh. The tomatillo salsa was flavorful but could have used a jalapeño or two to punch it up a bit. There are three tacos per serving, which is more than enough for a lunch portion, and at $12, the price cannot be beaten. The only complaint was that the tortillas were a bit greasy, like the cook had used just a scoosch too much oil when warming them before making the tacos. However, the flavor of the brisket and the freshness of the ingredients made up for the greasy tortillas.

The Ladies thoroughly enjoyed their lunch at Fort Redemption and plan to return to try dinner and brunch.

Fort Redemption: 4 Martinis out of 5

5724 Locke Avenue
Lunch: 11 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday
Dinner: 4 to 9 pm daily
Brunch: 10:30 am to 3 pm, Saturday and Sunday

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