This Week in Gluttony

These are the 8 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Truluck’s presents Mumm Champagne Dinner

Brunch and bubbles are served up at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

Photo courtesy of Truluck’s

Bourbon lovers, take note: Thursday brings opportunity to snag a bottle of a limited edition Fort Worth favorite. But be ready to wait in line. Other highlights this week range from a tequila dinner at a museum to a wine dinner at a car dealership. The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo has some special events for lovers of wine and brunch, too. Come Sunday, Super Bowl LIV will broadcast from most bars, but only one is providing nourishment with a game-day buffet.

Wednesday, January 29

Vine 2 Wine at Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
Wine lovers have some destinations all their own at this year's FWSSR. First, Wine Camps will take place at 3:30 and 5:30 pm in the Cactus Room in the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall. Wine makers and experts will take guests through an interactive experience, which concludes with a half-hour reception. Also, Sip & Shop will take place at 4 pm in the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibit Hall's Texas Room. The event will feature a selection of wines from acclaimed Texas wineries poured in commemorative wine glasses. (Sip & Shop for craft beer lovers will be offered at 4 pm Thursday in the GO TEXAN Marketplace in the Richardson-Bass Building, as well). Tickets for Sip & Shop, $20, are required and can be purchased here.

Thursday, January 30

Founder’s Select Single Barrel Release: TX Bourbon at Whiskey Ranch
Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. co-founders Leonard Firestone and Troy Robertson have selected their personal favorite barrels of bourbon and are ready to share. Bottles of the Founder’s Select Single Barrel TX Bourbon will sell for $50 each starting at 2 pm, but arrive early as there are only about 230 available. The distillery will open at noon and folks may begin waiting in line. Firestone and Robertson will be on hand to sign bottles, and an engraver be will available to personalize bottles. Stay nourished with Heim Barbecue, who’ll be on site, too.

Frescolbaldi Wine Dinner at Cadillac Wines
Chef Dena Peterson Shaskan of The Table Market & Culinary Studio will visit the car dealership wine bar to present a four-course Italian dinner paired with Italian wines. Taste roasted cauliflower with sage brown butter pate, pasta alla puttanesca, steak with crispy polenta, and cannoli for dessert. The dinner is $70 per person, before tax and gratuity, and begins at 6 pm.

Maestro Dobel Tequila Dinner at Café Modern
Café Modern chef Denise Shavandy will be joined by Tokyo Café chef Kevin Martinez and Bria Downey of Clay Pigeon Food & Drink to create a Mexican-inspired five-course dinner. Menu items range from octopus tostadas to duck mole. Each course will be paired with a different Maestro Dobel cocktail. Reservations are $95 per person ($79 for non-members), plus tax and gratuity, and dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

Wondermint Wines Dinner at Next Bistro
California winemaker Stephanie Cook will visit the Colleyville restaurant to showcase four of her favorite varietals paired with dishes by chef Ying Aikens. Enjoy crawfish pie, duck confit, flat iron steak, and chocolate lava cake. Dinner is $99 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:45 pm.

Friday, January 31

Four-Course Wine Dinner featuring Messina Hof at Pinstripes
Popular Grapevine winery Messina Hof will partner with the upscale bowling alley, bar, and restaurant to host a wine-pairing dinner. Courses include tri-color beet salad, crispy rainbow trout, smoked duck, and blackberry upside down cake. The $60 ticket includes tax and gratuity and dinner starts at 7 pm.

Sunday, February 2

Bubbles & Bites Brunch at Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
Fourteen local chefs from beloved restaurants like Magdalena's, Reata, Wishbone & Flynt, Taco Heads, and Hooker's Grill will provide signature brunch dishes, all paired with glasses of bubbly from around the world. The event takes place on the grounds of the Stock Show. Tickets for brunch only are $65, with an option to add the rodeo matinee show, $85.

Big Game Watch Party at America Gardens
While most bars will have their TVs tuned into Super Bowl LIV come Sunday evening, this West 7th-area hot spot will offer a $25 buffet featuring classic game-day fare. Enjoy dips and salsas like seven-layer, queso and shrimp and spinach dip, wings, jalapeño poppers, cheese and bacon-topped potato skins, pulled pork sliders, Buffalo chicken sliders, turkey wraps, and cookies and cake bars by the fourth quarter. Reservations are required for the buffet, which begins at 5 pm.

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Taco News

Where to find the best trompo tacos, according to Fort Worth Foodies

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Trompo tacos

In life, there are a few timeless questions: Why are we here, is there really a heaven — and who has the best trompo tacos.

That last question was posed on Fort Worth Foodies, the buzzy Facebook page with an astronomical 205K-plus followers, by Preston Paine, the brand-name chef at the Crescent Hotel the property in the Cultural District that opened in 2023.

Paine, who also won a CultureMap Tastemaker Award in 2023 for Chef of the Year, asked: "Who has the best trompo or pastor tacos in Fort Worth?"

According to Google AI (which is slowly but surely destroying the internet), trompo tacos, also known as tacos al pastor, are a popular Mexican dish of pork that's marinated and cooked on a vertical rotisserie.

In response to Paine's inquiry, the Fort Worth Foodies came out strong, offering recommendations for dozens of favored tacos in Fort Worth.

We're not going to beat around: The clear winner was Taqueria Temo, the restaurant in northwest Fort Worth, not far from Meacham Airport, which garnered the most recommendations. But plenty of other worthy names were volunteered.

In order of how many votes they received, according to the braintrust at Fort Worth Foodies, here's the best trompo or pastor tacos in Fort Worth:

Taqueria Temo, 3405 N. Elm St. (They also have a location in Haltom City and a food truck in the FW Stockyards) - 9 votes
Family-owned restaurant started out as a taco truck in 2007. In addition to praise-worthy trompo tacos, they do an authentic Mexican street-style taco plate, plus tortas, burritos, sincronizadas, Mexican hamburgers, and menudo on weekends.

Guajardos al Pastor, 1703 NW 28th St. - 3 votes
No website or Facebook page, just scads of positive reviews on Yelp and Google for their authentic Tacos al Pastor. Limited menu, only Tacos al Pastor and Tortas, a bowl of beans, and a salad. As one fan notes, "That’s literally all they sell."

Taqueria El Arquito, nine locations across DFW including 4325 Berry St. and 3621 Sycamore School Rd. - 3 votes
Family-owned business, founded in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, earned high praise as a trompo master, as well as its 10 tacos for $18.99 deal.

Tres Betos Taqueria, 2408 NE 28th St. - 2 votes
Known for its $1 street tacos, Tres Betos is the small restaurant famous for combo plates, which recently relocated to a bigger space. Truthfully, they're probably better known for birria tacos than trompo, but they still got 2 votes.

Los Guapos Mexican Street Food, 301 S. Sylvania Ave. - 2 votes
Spinoff of popular gas station taqueria Guapo Taco from Angel Fuentes, the Fort Worth chef who made a name for himself at Mariachi’s Dine In.

Los Mamones, 3310 N. Main St. - 2 votes
Hyper-authentic taqueria food truck is favored not only for its trompo tacos but also for clever spinoff specials like a trompo burger.

Taqueria Ortiz, 2657 E Vickery Blvd. - 2 votes
Authentic taqueria and Mexican restaurant took over this location near Polytechnic High School that has seen more than one concept come and go. They also have a food truck off James near Seminary.

365 Tacos, 3101 North Fwy. - 2 votes
North Texas chain has five locations including this truck stop/365 travel center with a Mexican restaurant inside, northeast of the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Tacos Los Irresistibles, 1308 N. Sylvania Ave. - 2 votes
Taqueria in the Scenic Bluff neighborhood serves authentic Mexican street tacos and dishes.

These suggestions all got one vote each:

Mi Tierra, meat market chain touted for $1.59 tacos just opened location at 3233 Alta Mere Dr. in west Fort Worth
La Tortlandia, old-timer at 1112 W Berry St. since 1986
Hurst Texas Tacos, family owned restaurant with years of experience making authentic Texas tacos.
Pantry On Magnolia, best known for its dumplings, including pastor dumplings.
Fitos Tacos de Trompo, a chain with 11 locations mostly in Dallas but also at 2356 E. Pioneer Pkwy., Arlington.
Taquikardia, located way down near Venus, 33 miles SW of Fort Worth, and better known for fish tacos.
Taqueria Haltom, highly rated taco shop in Haltom City at 1718 Haltom Rd.
Taqueria Taxco, bustling family-run chain at gas stations across DFW — specifically the Arlington location.
Taqueria Chacko, Foodtruck with authentic tacos at 6701 Rufe Snow Rd. in Watauga.
Taqueria Ruby, at 1101 Terminal Rd. is known for delicious tacos at a reasonable price.
Taqueria San Luis, 3 locations include N. 28th Street and Seminary Drive, but 1901 8th Ave. is the favorite.
Mariscos El Malecon, tacos and festive atmosphere at 7630 NE Loop 820 in North Richland Hills.
La Casa De Lina, new-ish spot in SW FW near I-20 and Granbury Road with authentic Mexican and home cooking.

And because there is always one of these guys, commenter Adrian Silva piped up: "My house."

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