Two of the city’s best new restaurants are not only located in the same neighborhood but also on the same street, in the same building, about, say, five or six feet from one another, give or take an inch or two.
Beren Mediterranean Empire Kitchen and Karino’s Piri Piri Chicken are located next to one another in the Funky Town Food Hall, located underneath Wabi House near the intersection of Magnolia Street and Eighth Avenue.
Over the past few years, the food hall has been home to several concepts that shy away from the ordinary. Cafecito, a Mexican restaurant that specializes mainly in breakfast dishes, many made with pink tortillas, is perhaps its most well-known occupant. It recently upgraded to its own brick-and-mortar location further east on Magnolia. The hall’s other widely known vendor was Ober Here, which served Filipino food.
Now in their places are these two new concepts, both family-run by self-taught chefs and owners whose food pays homage to their families and heritages. Karino’s is owned by Deon Stein, whose menu is made up of Mozambique-style chicken dishes, stews, and other items. Likewise, the owners of Beren — the Erhan family — specialize in Mediterranean classics, affordably priced and stylishly presented.
Along with well-known Med dishes such as lamb kebabs, gyros, falafel, hummus, and baba ghanoush, Beren’s menu features dishes you don’t always see, including kavurma, tender, braised beef shoulder served on a bed of rice, and cyprus, a decadent walnut and coconut flake cake topped with sweetened cream and a touch of orange. There’s a variety of baklava, too, as well as housemade bread.
Beren is the only restaurant in Fort Worth to serve Turkish breakfast. During breakfast hours, they serve two styles of bagels: simit, a twisty, sesame seed-covered bread ring that resembles a pretzel, and pogaca, which resembles an American bread roll. They can be ordered individually or as part of breakfast plates that also include sujuk, a spicy sausage, menemen (a scrambled eggs dish made with tomatoes), and assorted cheeses and vegetables.
A few feet over, the star of Karino’s menu is the restaurant’s namesake dish: piri piri chicken. Portuguese in origin, the dish features whole chicken or chicken pieces coated in a spicy sauce made with African bird’s eye peppers, which carry the nickname “pili pili.” Each piri piri chicken dish is made to order; there will be a bit of a wait, about 20 minutes or so.
The chicken is served in whole, half, or quarter portions, along with sides such as rice, fries, coleslaw, and Portugese rolls, light and airy bread rolls.
There are chicken and beef stews, too, along with a handful of breakfast items such as an egg and grilled chicken pita.
Both restaurants are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Funky Town Food Hall, 1229 Eighth Ave., Fort Worth