This week in gluttony

These are the 7 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Learn to make Chinese takeout this week.

Photo courtesy of 3rd Street Market

Halloween is over and it’s the calm before the storm of holiday events. This week brings several new pairing dinners (including one with mezcal) along with the launch of a new weekend brunch. Break out the comfy clothes for the weekend when there’s an all-you-can-eat barbecue festival and a nacho-eating competition.

Wednesday, November 2

Tocco Wine Dinner at Fitzgerald
The popular Gulf Coast-inspired Camp Bowie Boulevard restaurant will host an Italian wine dinner featuring the time-honored Tocco Vineyards from Barossa Valley. The four-course dinner will be paired with six wines and followed by petit fours for dessert. Dinner is $140 per person, plus tax and service charge, and will begin at 6:30 pm. Also make plans for Fitzgerald’s launch of weekend brunch service on Saturday and Sunday.

Dia de Los Muertos Dinner at Don Artemio
This four-course dinner will honor lost loved ones during the traditional Mexican holiday. Menu highlights include sea bass en mole negro de Oaxaca and chile en nogada. Courses will be paired with mezcal cocktails. Dinner is $115 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 7:30 pm. Don’t miss the calaveras (Spanish for “skulls”) art exhibition featuring the work of Mexican artists. Arrive anytime from 5-7 pm to meet the artists themselves.

Thursday, November 3

Spanish Wine Dinner at Mason & Dixie
The Southern-inspired Grapevine restaurant will go global with a wine-pairing dinner featuring tastes of Spain. Five courses will be paired with Spanish wines. Dinner is $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and will begin and 7 pm.

Pasta Making Class at Rancho Loma Vineyards
Led by handcrafted pasta makers Gnocchi Dokie, this always-popular hands-on pasta class typically sells out. There are just a few spots left for the 8 pm class time (6 pm is full). Class includes your personally created pasta dish and a flight of three Rancho Loma Vineyards wines. Tickets are $40 per person.

Friday, November 4

Chinese Takeout Cooking Class at Indulge Cooking Studio
Create authentic classic Chinese takeout dishes during this hands-on class inside downtown’s new 3^rd Street Market, home of Indulge Cooking Studio. Dishes will include beef and broccoli, vegetable chow mein, crab Rangoon, and Chinese greens. The three-hour class is $89 and begins at 5 pm.

Q BBQ Fest
To be held at AT&T Stadium’s Miller Lite House, this three-day national competition among pitmasters features six that are native Texans. The lineup includes Barrett Black of Black’s BBQ, Brandon Hurtado of Hurtado Barbecue, Mike Perez of Loro, and more Tickets range from $15 for general admission (food and drink are available for purchase) to $119 for unlimited barbecue, cocktails, and beer. There’ll also be live music. All tickets include parking and must be purchased for specific timeslots. The event will run through Sunday.

Sunday, November 6

Ultimate Nacho Challenge at El Chingon
It’s National Nachos Day and this West Seventh district Mexican restaurant and bar will host a stacked nacho-eating competition. Teams of two will compete to finish an oversized platter of nachos doused in cheese, Mexican citrus cream, jalapenos, pico de gallo, and guacamole. The quickest duo will win bottle service and Chingon bucks. Check-in begins at 1 pm and the challenge starts at 2 pm. Entry is free.

dinner chefs wine news-you-can-eat

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.

closings

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Closure News

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