The feel-good favorites at Chef Marcus Paslay’s new place in Cow Town’s Mule Alley include pimento cheese, and we’ve got the recipe.
Mule Alley at the Fort Worth Stockyards broke ground in the fall of 2018 with renovations of the historic district’s century-old horse and mule barns into a street of curated shops, restaurants, retail and office spaces. One of the newly opened places is Provender Hall, which serves new-American comfort food from restaurateur Marcus Paslay (Piattello Italian Kitchen, Clay Pigeon).
Named as a nod to the area’s cattle-centric history, Provender Hall is modeled as a true Texas brasserie, honoring traditional Western culture but with Paslay’s own modern innovations.
The menu ranges from oysters on the half-shell to chicken gumbo to buffalo tenderloin, with sides like crispy okra, braised greens, and cheddar-cheese grits. The supper menu includes a smoked chicken half-bird with chimichurri and grilled lemons, blackened shrimp and grits with a blistered tomato beurre blanc, and a smoked pork chop with a white-bean stew.
We love all that and can’t wait to sample the whole menu. We also love the fact that you can kick things off with an order of pimento cheese, that tried-and-true standby of backyard barbecues and church potlucks.
When you can make the trip in person, you can enjoy your pimento cheese in Provender Hall’s 5,000-square-foot lofted space. Enter by the early 1900s fire doors, sit at a table with the light streaming through clerestory windows, and settle in for a good hearty meal airily enclosed by walls of rehabilitated bricks from the original barn.
In the meantime, here’s the recipe to make this comforting favorite at home.
Provender Hall Pimento Cheese
Courtesy Chef Marcus Paslay
Ingredients
1 pound sharp cheddar
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Crystal hot sauce
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños, chopped
1/4 cup of piquillo peppers
Salt to taste
Instructions
Grate cheddar and pepper jack on box grater. Place in a bowl and add all other ingredients. Mix well; season to taste. Serve as a spread with crackers or as a filling for sandwiches (grilled or not).
Provender Hall is located at 122 E. Exchange Ave., in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit provenderhall.com/.
