The Wander List
OPENINGS
The rooms are done in tasteful neutrals — local art adds color — with designer lighting, including small built-in reading lights in the headboard. Photo courtesy of The Kimpton Harper Hotel
The Kimpton Harper Hotel expands hospitality in Fort Worth
The San Francisco-based boutique brand makes its introduction to Fort Worth, as another downtown landmark building gets a major makeover. The Harper also offers a free-standing restaurant, plus a penthouse whiskey bar and cocktail lounge adjacent to the 24th-floor lobby. Room decor is sophisticated and includes cool details such as colorful local art and a small panther figurine in each room’s closet. The 31 one-bedroom suites (226 guestrooms total) also feature inviting wet-room baths with soaking tubs. We like the full-size Atelier Bloem bath amenities and the Bluetooth speaker system found in all the rooms. Complimentary umbrellas and yoga mats are also included. First-floor restaurant il Modo offers contemporary Italian food from chef Matt Williams. Watch the pasta makers at work in their glass-walled prep room (classes are in the works). Refinery 714 is the top-floor lounge, which will offer a bar menu along with views of the city. Work out on one of the gym’s Pelotons or check out a bike to roll around downtown. And The Harper is pet-friendly, with no size or weight limit. As the website says, “If your pet fits through the door, we’ll welcome them in.”
714 Main St., Fort Worth, 817-332-7200 or 800-994-6103, theharperfortworth.com
ROAD FOOD
Lutie’s open to the public at Austin’s Commodore Perry Estate
The Austin getaway, part of the Auberge Resorts Collection, opened last spring, but Lutie’s Garden Restaurant is finally making its debut. The dining room is led by chefs Bradley Nicholson and Susana Querejazu (formerly of Austin’s Barley Swine). Nicholson also worked in San Francisco with Querejazu, who has years of pastry experience and also has made her mark at some of Austin’s best-known restaurants. The Commodore’s 2-acre garden has matured enough to provide ingredients for the seasonal menus, which also feature goodies from local farmers and ranchers. Look for dishes such as Yonder Way pork (a Fayetteville, Texas, product) with pickled cabbage and creamer peas, and charcoal-grilled chicken with leeks and hominy. For dessert, try the kouign amann ice cream and seasonal soft-serve flavors like fresh strawberry finished with Texas olive oil. Lutie’s is named for Nannie Lewette “Lutie” Perry, the estate’s matriarch, and features the same visual flair as the rest of the property thanks to designer Ken Fulk. The restaurant is open to the public by reservation only through OpenTable. Or book a room and enjoy all the amenities at the Commodore.
4100 Red River St., Austin, 512-817-5200, aubergeresorts.com/commodoreperry
Ken Fulk’s Southern glam design of Austin’s Commodore Perry Estate extends into Lutie’s Garden Restaurant. The light-filled dining room features a trellised ceiling, perfect for hanging baskets of greenery throughout the room and suspending sparkly chandeliers over the bar. Photo courtesy
of the Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection