Events You Can Eat
Crawfish cracks the 7 best food & drink events in Fort Worth this week

Rusty Nickel IceHouse kicks off crawfish season with a big competition.
Mardi Gras season ends this week with Fat Tuesday falling on March 4. But crawfish season is just heating up with one local bar hosting a multi-date crawfish cook-off that will award thousands in cash. Start the week with a birria taco pop-up from a long-lost taqueria, and two Fat Tuesday parties with plenty of hurricanes, beignets, and beads. (And if you're looking for where to find fun Mardi Gras cocktails, we've got a list here.)
Tuesday, March 4
Mardi Gras Pop-Up: Calisience x Panther City BBQ
Trend-setting taco truck, which
closed its brick-and-mortar location on Race Street last year, returns for a one-day pop-up at Panther City BBQ. It starts nice and early at 11 am with Calisience’s fan-favorite crispy tacos dorados, birria ramen, birria elote, and cheesy quesadillas. Panther City — normally closed on Tuesdays — will sling Mardi Gras-themed cocktails in honor of Fat Tuesday. The pop-up will run until 6 pm or sell-out.
Fat Tuesday at Walloon’s
Chef Marcus Paslay’s coastal-inspired restaurant on West Magnolia Avenue will celebrate Mardi Gras with hurricanes, beignets, shucked oysters, and seafood specials. There’ll also be live jazz from 5–8 pm. Beads and masks are encouraged.
Mardi Gras at Bourbon Street Bar & Grill
Bedford bar and restaurant will host a Mardi Gras party with DJ music and food and drink specials. Enjoy Louisiana crawfish for $7.99 a pound, $10 yardsticks filled with frozen hurricanes, and DJ tunes from 7 pm until midnight.
Thursday, March 6
Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers Grand Opening
ICYMI: An Arizona-based burger joint called Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers
opened in Euless in October. But the official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony happens Thursday with special guests Linda Martin, mayor of Euless, and the restaurant founder and CEO S. Barrett Rinzler. The ceremony will take place from 4:30–6:30 pm, perfect timing for a post-work cold beer, college basketball on TV, and something from the restaurant’s lengthy menu of half-pound burgers, sliders, sandwiches, and “stadium char-dogs.”
Friday, March 7
Foodieland Food Festival at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway will turn into a festival food lover’s paradise during this three-day weekend event that will boast nearly 200 unique food and beverage vendors. Entry is $7 (plus $12 to park) and the event will run from 3–10 pm on Friday and 1–10 pm Saturday and Sunday.
Live Music at Roy Pope Grocery
Live music on the patio returns to the neighborhood gourmet grocer this Friday from 6–8 pm with Jesse Lee & The Band. Visit from 5–7 pm for complimentary wine tastings and partake of $5 frosès all day along with a lunch and dinner special of smoked prime rib.
Saturday, March 8
Crawfish Boil-Off at Rusty Nickel IceHouse
This is the first of a series of crawfish cook-off competitions which will culminate with a $4,000 award presented to a grand finalist in June.
Entry is $50 and includes a 33-pound bag of crawfish and one propane tank for on-site boiling. Winners are determined by crowd votes. Tasting tickets good for five tastes are $15. Future competition dates are April 13 and May 18, leading up to the grand finale on June 8. Cash prizes and an entry for the grand finale will be awarded for first, second, and third place each month. The competition begins at 3 pm.