This Week in Gluttony

These are the 9 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Del Frisco's Grille will serve brunch to early birds who make it there for ESPN College GameDay.

Photo courtesy of Del Frisco's Grille

Holiday weekends typically mean events are slim, but not this week. The jam-packed schedule includes wine tastings, bubbly on the patio, a big brewery anniversary, barbecue, beer and blues, and one early brunch, thanks to a Saturday morning visit from ESPN College GameDay. Cheers to the unofficial end of summer.

Wednesday, August 28

Football Kick-Off Happy Hour at Whiskey Ranch
The distillery’s cocktail bar will be open to the public to celebrate the start of college football season, and that means football-themed drinks. There’ll also be a limited number of whiskey bottles with caps made from pigskin football leather for sale in the distillery store, along with ball caps in college colors. Grab a tailgate-themed bite from Austin’s Underdawgs food truck while there. The event will run from 4-7 pm, and tickets aren’t required.

La Rambla – An Evening of Tapas in Barcelona at Ellerbe Fine Foods
Take a jaunt to Spain via the West Magnolia Avenue farm-to-table restaurant at this small-plate soiree. There’ll be tapas galore, from marinated olives and tomato toasts to cheese and sausage-stuffed peppers, ham and manchego sandwiches, Gulf shrimp in garlic oil, and anise-scented fry bread with vanilla bean custard. The price is $45 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and there’ll be an optional flight of Spanish wine and sangria. Reservations run from 5:30-9 pm.

It’s all Greek to me! Wine Tasting at Cadillac Wines
Visit the Frank Kent Cadillac dealership wine room for a tasting of Greek wines paired with small plates from chef Denise Shavandy of Café Modern. Reservations are $55 per person, and the event will run from 6-8 pm.

Japanese Smokehouse & Hitachino Beer Dinner at Tokyo Café
Hitachino beers are from Tokyo, Japan, and four of them will be paired with this family-style Japanese barbecue dinner. The menu will start with a wedge salad, braised short rib gyoza, and deviled eggs. Guests will share platters of smoked beef tenderloin, Peking chicken, ham hock adzuki beans, koji salt chicken wings, and corn with smoked miso butter. In an interesting twist, dessert will feature Swiss Pastry Shop’s famous Black Forest cake. Tickets are $75 per person, and dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

Thursday, August 29

Z. Alexander Brown Wine Tasting at 3 Vino
The “Z” stands for Zac, as in Zac Brown. Try the famous musician’s very own wines at the Roanoke wine bar. The Grammy Award-winner blends his own Napa wines, and there’ll be five tasted for the $30-per-person price. Cheeses for pairing will be included, and the tasting will run from 6-8 pm.

Friday, August 30

Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
The three-day event (which is expected to draw about 17,000 people) combines both music performers and pitmasters for a weekend of barbecue and blues. Multiple competitions means more opportunities to taste plenty of samples, from sausage and steaks and to beef and pork. Ticket prices vary based on day and event but range from free general admission (Friday only) to $225 for a shaded table for nine under the party tent with close views of the stage. Beer and wine are available for purchase to wash it all down.

Cliquot in the Sun at Clay Pigeon Food & Drink
Champagne lovers know Veuve Cliquot sets the bar for bubbly. This patio party will feature specials on the good stuff as a toast to the end of summer. The event will run from 6-9 pm, and dinner reservations are recommended.

Saturday, August 31

College GameDay Brunch at Del Frisco’s Grille
The Sundance Square restaurant will open early at 8 am to give ESPN College GameDay fans a birds-eye view of the broadcast, which will kick off its season live from the plaza from 8-11 am. A brunch buffet will be served until 10:30 am for $35 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Featured dishes include French toast, chilaquiles, steak and potato hash, and fresh fruit. Carafes of brunch drinks will also be available. Note that a la carte brunch items won’t be served until normal brunch hours starting at 11 am.

Shannon Brewing Co. 5th Anniversary
The Keller brewery is celebrating its birthday with a big party. Visit noon to 5 pm for live music, craft sausages, burgers, and cheesecake from local food trucks, and more than a dozen special release brews. Tickets are $25 and include 10 6-ounce pours and a logo glass. A $40 ticket allows for early admission at 11 am.

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Coffee News

Low Doubt Bar on Fort Worth's Near Southside adds unexpected side bit

Low Doubt Bar

Cocktail with coffee at Low Doubt Bar

A bar in Fort Worth's Near Southside is brewing up an unusual cup of joe: Low Doubt Bar, the casual hangout at 120 St. Louis Ave. #108 that's a spinoff of live music venue Tulips, has added a specialty coffee bar, where it's serving coffee and caffeinated drinks.

Founder Jason Suder says the program is designed for customers like the service worker heading to their next shift, the nurse needing to stay alert, or the entrepreneur looking for a wifi and a caffeine fix.

"Coffee has always been part of our DNA," Suder says. "Whether it’s our first cup of the day as we wash off last night’s show or our tenth as the band finishes loading out, we live off coffee."

Suder opened Tulips FTW in November 2020 as a great bar and live music venue; then opened Low Doubt in early 2024 as an artsy space to grab a drink and unwind — creating a varied entertainment zone to which the coffee bar adds another facet.

Low Doubt has a charming, retro, laid-back vibe — if it were a vehicle, it would be one of those vans from the '70s with the orange and yellow stripes — and has a winking sense of humor, best exemplified by its daily opening time: 4:20 pm.

"So much of what we’re trying to do is show Fort Worth that we have options," Suder continues. "You don’t have to skip a concert because you’re taking a break from beer, miss happy hour because you’re on the wagon, or miss out on memories with friends because you don’t want to drink."

"By adding coffee and caffeinated drinks, we’re creating a space for people who want to be stimulated by the community without feeling removed from drinking culture," he says.

They're sourcing their coffee from acclaimed Counter Culture Coffee, a North Carolina-based roaster known for its commitment to quality and sustainability.

They're making use of an espresso machine they used when Tulips was operating as a daytime coffee shop during the pandemic, now revamped and applied more seamlessly to the bar. Coffee drinks are served as a happy hour or pre-shift pick me up, a jump start to someone’s night out, or a late night burst to sober up or keep their night going.

The menu includes espresso, Americano, cortado, machiato, con pana, and drip. Milk options include regular and non-dairy hemp. They also have a quartet of clever boozy coffee drinks that include: espresso with Liquor 43; Irish coffee; breakfast coffee with mezcal and Topo Chico; and an espresso martini.

"Low Doubt was built on black coffee and whiskey," Suder says. "Other coffee shops close at 8 pm, or 3 pm in the summer. We grew up on the Friends lie that we could meet up at the coffee shop after a bad date or strange movie. Now, we don’t have to choose between daytime coffee or nighttime booze—why not have both?"

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