Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and a Rodeo Goat

You might wonder what Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and a rodeo goat have in common, but as you will see, they have everything to do with each other. In fact, if it weren’t for the botanic gardens, we wouldn’t even know there WAS a rodeo goat.

While on last summer’s epic road trip, we took some time to discover the world around us. One of our stops was Houston… or Dallas… or ended up being Fort Worth. Since we made an overnight stop there and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all we know, we had to visit something and Fort Worth Botanic Gardens won the day.

These gardens are the oldest in the state of Texas and they do a botanic garden justice. We live near the gorgeous and well known Longwood Gardens and NOTHING can light a candle to those gardens. Do you see where small worlds limit our views? Fort Worth Botanic Gardens is (are?) absolutely amazing and have even more to see than our hometown gardens. Be prepared to visit for hours.

There is so much garden to roam without paying a penny but we recommend paying for the Rain Forest Garden and the Japanese Gardens also. There are so many things to discover – from giant beetles dive bombing water fountains, to koi swimming peacefully in the Japanese Gardens, and from learning about native and invasive plant species to exotic flowers from around the world.

The Botanic Gardens are a perfect place to stretch those legs and let the kids learn and explore nature. The setting is so serene and beautiful. We even got to see a bride come for her wedding photos.

By the time we left we were more than ready for lunch, and this is where we come to rodeo goats. With every stop we made it a point to discover local restaurants and after searching foodie reviews and cross referencing foodie e-zine articles, we discovered Rodeo Goat wasn’t too far away and boasted the best burgers in town. After several meals of BBQ we were game for a good burger.

When we pulled up to Rodeo Goat we weren’t sure if we made a mistake or found a hidden gem. The building was nothing to look at and we contemplated not risking it. However, rather than driving around, trying to find something else, we parked and headed inside. Boy were we ever glad we did.

Rodeo Goat is not the place to go for a romantic evening. With tall long tables and good old turning stool chairs, it screamed bar or, well, burger joint. It was quiet when we first arrived but by the time we left the place was hopping and loud with the lunchtime crowd. I do have to mention that I loved that everything was very clean and neat. That’s a huge plus when I’m eating my meal.

We had already learned the lesson to order several meals and split them between us all so we could get the most of our food experience, and so we ordered 3 burgers (Blue Goat, Chaca Oaxaca, and the Whiskey Burger), 2 sides of fries, Texas Caviar, and Goat Balls.

I chose a Texas craft beer, Revolver Blood and Honey, to go with lunch and was very happy with that decision. It helped the Texas Caviar go down a bit lighter. P.S. I discovered I am not a fan of black-eyed peas.

I always love a blue cheese burger and Rodeo Goat’s Blue Goat was no exception. My blue cheese hating husband even enjoyed it.

The Whiskey Burger with cheddar, bacon, and blackberry compote was amazing. I think of some crazy things but I would never have thought of putting a sweet berry “jam” on my burger. This is the burger that comes to mind every month or so.

The Chaca Oaxaca was my favorite at the time. How much amazing can you cram on a burger? I never quite got the whole “egg on a burger” thing until this burger. The blended chorizo and beef burger was sigh worthy and with all the amazing toppings you practically had to eat the burger with a fork. Every single bit was worth it and I gladly ate what no one else was hungry for. Score for us all trying that burger last.

No matter what burger you choose, you have to try the Hand Punched French Fries. Hands down, best french fries I have ever eaten. They were coated in herbs and spice deliciousness. We ate the leftovers later on in the day and they were even good cold. Now who normally likes a cold french fry?!

What else could we get but goat balls for dessert? Basically a donut hole, smothered in blackberry compote, does it get better than that? Well, this was the only letdown of the whole meal. I would have loved them if they were light and airy but the donut holes were so heavy and thick we really couldn’t eat them. The blackberry compote was very good though.

Sadly, we left Fort Worth to continue on our way, but my 9 year old’s final request as we headed out of town was, “Can we come back to both places for my birthday?”