This Week in Gluttony

These are the 5 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Cool off from the summer heat with a wine dinner at Grace.

Photo courtesy of Youth With Faces

Cool off this week with refreshing summer wines at one downtown restaurant’s annual “cool wine dinner,” or sip invigorating sake at a seven-course soiree at a beloved Fort Worth Japanese restaurant. There’s also a local beer dinner at a luxury downtown hotel and a Sunday supper complete with cocktails at a West Magnolia Avenue bar. Come Monday, DFW Restaurant Week officially begins, so reservations (perhaps several) are in order.

Thursday, August 9

Revolver Beer Dinner at Omni Fort Worth Hotel
The hops-inspired four-course meal will feature Granbury’s celebrated brewery. Passed hors d’oeuvres, including blue masa fried sweet breads and watermelon shots, will be paired with Long Range Pilsner. Then the popular Sidewinder Pale Ale will pair with poached lobster, followed by Full Tang IPA with fried pickled okra over wild arugula and heirloom tomatoes. The main dish of braised short rib will come with Mullet Cutter Double IPA, before a sweet finish of smoked chocolate ice cream tacos paired with Anodyne White Wheat Ale. Seats are $45 per person plus tax and gratuity, and dinner begins at 6 pm.

7-course Sake Tasting Dinner at Tokyo Café
A nationally-recognized certified sake pro will lead 18 lucky guests through a tasting of seven different sakes paired with courses by chef Kevin Martinez. The exotic menu ranges from brown butter oysters and Spanish jamon with pickled honeydew to miso-glazed cod and prime ribeye. Tickets are $85 per person, and dinner begins at 6:30 pm. Hurry, as there were less than 10 seats left as of Monday morning.

Friday, August 10

Cool Wine Dinner at Grace
Cool off with refreshing summer sips at Grace’s second annual Cool Wine Dinner. There’ll be crisp dishes like white gazpacho, watermelon salad, rock shrimp ceviche, Tahitian vanilla pound cake with limoncello gelato, and more. Toast to the end of the summer’s heat wave with array of thirst-quenching wines, including bubbly brut, sparking rosé, and white trousseau gris. Reservations are $100 per person (which is a steal for Grace wine dinners), plus tax and gratuity. An opening reception starts at 6:30 pm, and dinner begins at 7 pm.

Sunday, August 12

Sunday Supper at Proper
There’ll be cocktails made with Waco-based Balcones whisky paired with all five courses of this Sunday afternoon supper, which starts early at 4 pm. Chef Victor Villarreal of Savor Culinary Services will prepare ocean trout shashimi, potted shrimp, barley fried rice with charred eggplant and shishito peppers, ricotta pasta with pork belly and blackberry sauce, and chocolate Oreo stout crumble. Tickets are $100 per person.

Monday, August 13

DFW Restaurant Week
Although “week” is in the title, the annual dine-out fundraiser can run as long as three weeks for some area restaurants. There are 20 Fort Worth restaurants and around a dozen more in the mid-cities participating in this year’s event, which supports the North Texas Food Bank and Lena Pope Home. Patrons can make reservations to indulge in a multi-course meal for either $39 or $49 per person — a bargain for pricey establishments like Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Grace, and The Capital Grill, all of which are on the list along with newcomers like Fixe Southern House and B&B Butchers & Restaurant.

chefs fundraisers dinner cocktails wine craft-beer

Closure News

Tropic Lady restaurant-bar on Fort Worth's Race Street says aloha

Tropic Lady

The dip trio at Tropic Lady.

A chill restaurant and bar in Fort Worth's River East district has closed: Tropic Lady, which opened in the former Fuzzy's Taco space at 2719 Race St. in 2023, has closed.

The restaurant, which closed in mid-December, was a sibling to Bearded Lady, the popular gastropub in Near Southside; their last Facebook post was on December 10. Their phone number is not working, and their website is no longer active. Owner Shannon Osbakken was unavailable for comment, but a Bearded Lady employee confirmed the closure.

Tropic Lady was a tropical-themed gastropub opened by a trio of friends: Bearded Lady owner Shannon Osbakken, her business partner Sarah Allen, and general manager Amanda Yunger. It offered a similar menu as Bearded lady but with more tropical-inspired fare, including shrimp tacos, bacon-wrapped grilled pineapple bites, and guacamole dotted with mango.

For a gastropub, they did interesting food with dishes like watermelon salad with feta and cucumber; or their Dip Trio, with mango guacamole, tomatillo salsa, and queso blanco served with house-made tortilla chips. Definitely not run-of-the-mill. They also had great lunch specials like a smashburger with curly fries for $10.

Food did not seem to be the problem.

Decor featured artwork and murals created by local artists. A beautifully landscaped patio wrapped around the building’s facade. So the setting did not seem to be a factor.

It's tempting to point the finger at its location on Race Street, which has witnessed a round of closings in the past two years including buzzy birria taqueria Caliscience, which closed in February 2024; as well as The Post at River East, a restaurant and live music venue that shut down the same month.

In 2023, three other restaurants on Race Street closed: Tributary Cafe, the Bon Appetit-lauded La Onda, and vegan burger spot Zonk Burger. But separate reasons can also be found for each of those closures, whether that be inexperience or lease issues.

For years, the city and neighborhood advocates have been trying to turn Race Street into a trendy hotspot. As part of the city’s Urban Villages program, the city of Fort Worth invested $5.6 million in revitalizing the area, making improvements to traffic flow, sidewalks, landscaping, and outdoor lighting.

When Osbakken opened the bar, she said she loved the area, stating "it reminds me of Magnolia when were first were on it 10 years ago in our old location. It's a great community and the neighbors have been friendly and reaching out."

And there are still restaurants along the street, including a popular Mexican restaurant called Tesoro, the Dough’d Up doughnut shop, and Kingyo Sushi & Ramen House, as well as a coffee shop, Race Street Coffee.

The Bearded Lady continues to flourish. Osbakken originally opened the popular gastropub on Magnolia Avenue in 2013. Six years later, she moved it to the South Main, where it’s still going strong.

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