Chew Chew!

M&O Station Grill + Cocktail Lounge, 200 Carroll St, Ste 110. 817-882-8020. 11am-10pm Sun-Mon, 11am-11pm Tue-Fri, 11am-midnight Sat.

When Fort Worth Weekly staff writer Peter Gorman (R.I.P.) first wrote about M&O Station Grill (then just Station Grill) over 16 years ago, he devoted three sentences to the burger he tried, which he described as “decent,” especially compared to the stuffed tomato salad, which he couldn’t get enough of.

That review, which couldn’t exactly be described as a rave, now hangs on the wall inside the casual Foundry District restaurant — right next to at least nine various Best Burger awards. We can’t be right all the time.

For 20-plus years, since well before the Foundry District had a name, M&O Station Grill has been serving burgers, salads, soups, and, for a couple of years now, cocktails, to both loyal patrons and burger aficionados who have no doubt caught their name in a list of best DFW burgers. The burgers have won multiple Best Ofs from this newspaper as well as the knockoff version from that other magazine. But whenever I mention M&O to anyone under the age of 40, they stare at me blankly. It’s a restaurant that time — and the local food scene — apparently forgot.

My husband and I stopped in on a recent Saturday because we’d heard the place had been closed for renovations but was now back open. It can be scary as a regular to hear a restaurant is closing for renovations. You may wonder if the updates are hiding an underlying problem or are a last-ditch effort to bring in more customers before closing for good. Or what if the updates take away some of the magic? Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. It turns out the changes were mostly invisible — a new HVAC system, electrical, and a kitchen upgrade. New wood flooring was also added throughout, which instantly brightened up the space as it reflected the oodles of natural light coming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

When we first entered, the first thing I noticed was that the museum was gone. That’s right, the retro burgers and fries also used to come with a side of Fort Worth history. If you didn’t know, Fort Worth used to have a subway. M&O Station gets its name from the old Leonard’s M&O Subway (the M and O stand for Marvin and Obadiah Leonard) that ran from the famed Leonard’s department store downtown to parking lots on the other side of the river, near where the grill is now. For years, the Leonard’s museum, run by Leonard family matriarch Marty Leonard, taught visitors about the subway, which closed in 2002 after being acquired and run by the Tandy corporation for a number of years. Apparently, Marty donated most of the museum contents to the Museum of Science and History, and you can find it there. But post-renovation, a hallway leading from the ordering counter to the front seating area is lined with old photos of the subway and Leonard’s for those looking for that extra dose of nostalgia.

One thing that definitely hasn’t changed is the quality of the burgers. While M&O offers a surprising selection of salads, turkey and veggie burgers (and even gluten-free buns for people with dietary restrictions), Chef Daniel Badillo’s hand-crafted all-Angus beef burgers are what keep people coming back for more. The flavor combos of the burgers are not those of a typical diner — you can’t even order a regular old cheeseburger here except from the kids’ menu. But neither are they ultra-gourmet burgers like you’ll find just down the road at Rodeo Goat. The ingredients are simple, and the execution takes them over the top.

My husband ordered the Bleu Cow Burger, an 8-ounce patty stuffed with savory bleu cheese, topped with crispy bacon and a tangy house sauce, while I opted for the California Burger, a 5-ounce patty smothered in white cheddar cheese, with chipotle mayo, fire-roasted jalapeños, caramelized onions, and sliced avocado. I guess the avocado is what gives it its moniker. My burger also came with a side of salsa verde, which I immediately slathered on to the burger. The bright green, cilantro-forward sauce also made a great condiment to dip fries into.

For an extra $3-$4, you can choose hand-cut fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, or potato chips, but we instead split the Roger Dirty fries, which are topped with housemade chili and cheddar cheese. The chili, also available on its own, was delicious and beefy, but the ratio of chili to fries was a little off, leaving us with too much leftover beef chili and craving more potatoes.

While the cocktail lounge behind the kitchen and front seating area was added a few years ago with the same retro vibe as the restaurant space, it’s also been refreshed as part of the recent renovation. A comfy living room vignette — a sofa and two lounge chairs — is tucked in to the corner, a perfect place to enjoy after-dinner drinks. My husband ordered a perfectly prepared (that is, not too sweet) Old-Fashioned made with Woodford bourbon, while I tried unsuccessfully to order a mojito and then a Moscow mule. The bar didn’t have the mint in stock. I settled on a cucumber jalapeno margarita, which turned out to be the right choice all along. The spiciness from the pepper perfectly complemented the lime and cucumber, making for a bright and refreshing sipper.

Due to the nature of M&O’s location off Carroll Street between White Settlement and West 7th, the place probably doesn’t get a lot of people just passing by — you kind of have to know it’s there. But if you know, you know, and apparently enough people know that M&O has been going strong for going on 25 years now, harking back to a different era even as Fort Worth keeps changing all around it.