Secret Garden

Crystal Springs Hideaway, 113 Roberts Cut Off Rd, Fort Worth. 682-224-2583. 11am-9pm Sun, 11am-10pm Tue-Thu, 11am-midnight Fri-Sat.

When I was in high school, River Oaks was the type of place where you could buy beer underage without as much as a second glance. Don’t get me wrong. The tree-filled neighborhood has always been vibrant in its own right, but its heyday always seemed time out of mind. This is no longer the case. Though gentrification may be slowly remaking the area, you can still see remnants of the old neighborhood among the new townhomes and businesses. This is part of the reason a place like Crystal Springs Hideway can feel like an oasis. It’s new, but it bridges the gap between gentrification and appreciation, preserving a space instead of participating in its erasure.

Owned and run by Kay Granger’s son, J.D. Granger, with wife Shanna Granger, Crystal Springs Hideaway calls itself a “wine and beer garden” that also boasts “burgers,” a “wine and cheese shoppe,” “cocktails,” and “live music.” It sounds like it has too many competing ideas. It’s usually better to do a few things well instead of many things mediocre, but this isn’t the case at Crystal Springs.

The property sits just off the corner of Roberts Cut Off and White Settlement roads, which is a pretty happening area right now due to new construction and businesses. The Grangers used the older home that sits on the property and built their new venture around it, so the whole campus has a friendly neighborhood feel. And there are patios galore. The entire front is a functional patio/beer garden with cornhole and plenty of places for kids to run around. There’s also a large covered patio with fans which leads to the larger, main beer garden at the back of the venue. There is a small nook for performers to set up, and in back sits a covered yet open-air bar that leaves you feeling connected to the larger areas. The Grangers are dedicated to keeping live music part of the ambiance and identity by hosting performances four days a week. Jazz night is 6-9pm Wednesdays, while 6-9pm Thursdays and 7-10pm Fri-Sat are for acoustic acts.

My friend and I decided to check out the jazz night and enjoy the patio before the Texas heat unleashes its full fury. Parking is a little tricky due to the layout, but there’s overflow parking next door. Entering through the front door, you might feel a bit confused. It’s like walking into someone’s house. There’s also a small bakery and cheese shop run by Kelly Burton, the chef de cuisine who’s also kitchen manager at award-winning Near Southside Italian eatery Nonna Tatta. The wine shop is small and well-organized, and a long bar in a narrow room gives the hideway a tavern feel. The A/C is pumping, and the bar staff is friendly.

My guest and I opted to start the evening with a cocktail. An Old Fashioned doesn’t especially lend itself to great heights due to its simplicity, but it can be butchered in the wrong hands. Crystal Springs’ is great. Just what you would expect at any respectable bar.

After this primer, we moved outside, which was surprisingly lively for 6 p.m. We secured a table near the band alcove. Local jazzbos Daymon Callahan and DeAnthony McGhee kept the tempo moving and the vibes light. Crystal Springs offers a fixed deal on jazz nights: a bottle of wine (the weekly selection) and a pre-set charcuterie board for $40. While this was tempting, my guest and I went with the Italian Board: Merlot BellaVitano, mozzarella with basil oil, prosciutto, Calabrese salami, olives, grapes, nuts, and ciabatta bread. We paired this with a bottle of Ercole Monferatto Barbera. Pro tip: This combo was a few dollars more than the $40 deal, but we enjoyed a larger charcuterie board and a liter bottle. Both were fantastic and could have easily served three hungry/thirsty people.

From there, we dived into a chilled red. The Love You Bunches Sangiovese is light, fruity, and slightly acidic, perfect for warm days. These combos made for a lively River Oaks afternoon with some great jazz in the background.

The other side of Crystal Springs Hideaway is powered by Big Kat Burgers. Think of a Mad Max food truck. While Crystal Springs is the entire venue, Big Kat’s Mike Sugg and Bryce Blackburn lease out Crystal Springs’ kitchen and run the starters, salads, sides, handhelds, and burgers. This arrangement results in more choice. Do you want a patio with some burgers and beer, or are you leaning toward a bottle of red and some cheese?

My guest and I did both. We followed up the wine and charcuterie with a burger, tots, and beers. We split The Brute, a patty topped with bacon jam-infused cream cheese, onions, jalapenos, bacon, and jalapeno-cilantro buttermilk ranch. Contrary to its name, it wasn’t overly large in size, but it was certainly full of flavor. There was just enough kick, and all the ingredients tangoed nicely together. The tots were fine but could have used some of that awesome ranch or some cheese.

We decided to finish the evening like we started it: with cocktails. (No, I wasn’t dining with Hunter S. Thompson.) We sampled the espresso martini and the Come and Get It. JD said the former is a riff on one that he and his wife came across while on vacation in Isla Mujeres. Crystal Springs’ espresso martini is more complex than most of its counterparts around town. It’s somehow coffee-forward but still with vodka undertones and not a lot of sugar. A hangover cure for sure.

The Come and Get It is more like a bourbon margarita. It’s lime-forward, but the tart cherry and Silver Star Bourbon add enough bite and sweetness to even everything out. Perfect for a hot day.

From Friday thru Sunday, Crystal Springs Hideaway is hosting a German Maifest, with live music, stein-hoisting competitions, $5 16-oz. Paulaner drafts, and giant Bavarian pretzels, plus Big Kat will be dealing out bratwurst specials. I cannot think of a better location for a party like this in Funkytown. With patios for days, diverse concepts, and solid food, Crystal Springs Hideway might not be a secret any longer.