This week in gluttony

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

It's time for the biggest wine event of the year.

Photo courtesy of GrapeFest

The first Oktoberfest event of the season happens this week, and it’s a big one that starts with a fun run. This week also brings the 36th annual edition of the largest wine festival in the Southwest. Save room for pumpkin beer and pie — the latter in the form of an inaugural pie-eating contest.

Wednesday, September 14

Hispanic Heritage Month at Central Market
Are you really into comida? The Texas gourmet grocer will showcase top-rated Hispanic brands from around the world for this month-long festival that kicks off Wednesday. New and noteworthy items available for purchase are Spanish-tenderized octopus, Chorizo de San Manuel from Edinburg, Texas, pastel de elote with buttery corn bread, sweetened condensed milk and white corn, and Mexican wedding cookies. The festival will run through October 11.

Thursday, September 15

GrapeFest
The largest wine festival of the Southwest returns for its 36th annual four-day run. Held in historic downtown Grapevine, GrapeFest features the best of Texas-grown wines, as well as guest wineries from the Sonoma Valley region in California and Sicily region of Italy. New this year is a cork shoot-off, charcuterie workshops, and VIP tasting experiences. Headlining acts include Texas country singer Jack Ingram (Saturday) and '80s pop star Taylor Dayne (Friday). GrapeFest opens at 11 am daily. Admission is free on Thursday and all day Friday until 5 pm. After that, adults are $10 ($5 for 62-plus and children 6-12). Note that admission does not include tasting experiences, including the popular People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, which is $25 per person (in advance) and booked in 90-minute increments throughout the weekend.

Saturday, September 17

Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest 5K
Now in its 13th year, the popular 5K race and post-party takes place Saturday morning right at the Rahr brewery. Registration includes an official race shirt, finisher medal, on-course whiskey shot by Acre Distilling Co., and finisher pint glass to be filled with three Rahr brews. Note that registration ($55) closes Friday at 5 pm and the race begins promptly Saturday at 8:30 am. The event will include stein-hoisting competitions, costume contests, and lots of live music.

Pumpkin Fest at Martin House Brewing Company
The Riverside brewery will drop three different pumpkin beers during this afternoon “almost-fall” festival. Go for face painting, pumpkin decorating, pumpkin chucking, kettle corn, food trucks, and live music. The $20 entry fee includes a pint glass and four pours. As always for Martin House Saturday events, kids are welcome.

Pie-Eating Contest at Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop
The Arlington outlet of this popular pie chain will host its inaugural pie-eating competition, where participants get to pick their pie. The entry fee is $7.50 per person ($8.50 for gluten-free pie, booked in advance). In a unique twist, a round will take place every 15 minutes and the number of participants in each round determines the size of the prize — which is more pie to take home. Large groups may book a time slot in advance. Rounds will run from 1-4 pm.

news-you-can-eat craft-beer wine festivals desserts

Breakfast News

White Rock Cafe in North Richland Hills is a breakfast & lunch gem

White Rock Cafe

A family-owned cafe is serving Mexican eats and coffee in North Richland Hills: Called White Rock Cafe, it's located at 7640 NE Loop 820 #110, in North Hills Village, in a former event space called Eventfully Yours, where it opened in May.

Not to be confused with White Rock Coffee or White Rock Lake, White Rock Cafe is named after a location in Oaxaca, Mexico — Rosa Blanca — and the ancestral hometown of sisters Jenny and Stephanie Pantoja, who own the restaurant with their cousin Kevin Nazario.

"It's where my father grew up," Jenny says. But she and her sister and her cousin all grew up in NRH.

“We decided to open in North Richland Hills because even though we live on the edge of Fort Worth, we kind of grew up here and are familiar with the people," Jenny says. “That’s why we decided this would be the perfect community to open a breakfast place.”

Their menu ranges from Mexican breakfast to comfort food to burgers and chicken-fried steak. There are all your bacon-and-egg-and-pancake combos with choice of potatoes or grits, but there are also crepes, topped with berries, and a Mexican Benedict, featuring an English muffin topped with grilled red onions, green peppers, seasoned chorizo, poached eggs, avocado, and Hollandaise sauce.

They also have a coffee program including brewed coffee, espresso, white coffee, hot chocolate, and hot teas.

White Rock CafeWhite Rock Cafe

Lunch has a homey home-cooking vibe, including a daily special with dishes like chicken fried steak and pot roast with two sides and Texas toast for only $8. There's a perfect California club with crisp bacon, red tomato slices, and fresh Romaine on toast, neatly trimmed, for $10; and that DFW classic combo of grilled cheese sandwich served with tomato-basil soup.

Prices are low, topping out at $14 for chilaquiles. They're open every day from 7 am-3 pm.

Jenny works in a surgery program most days when she’s not at the restaurant. She got her start working at a breakfast restaurant and grew to appreciate the hours and the culture, inspiring her and her family to open this breakfast cafe of their own.

It's a friendly, tidy place, with black vinyl booths and a lovely mural on the wall that summons the Mexican area for which it is named.

“My father used to work at a Cracker Barrel and other breakfast places, then he had the dream of opening his own place,” Jenny says. “That was the same for me too."

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